MON, JANUARY 15 2018-theG&BJournal- The President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, will host the inaugural meeting of the High-Level Panel on International Migration in Africa (HLPM), in Monrovia on Monday, January 15, 2018. Participants include the President of the African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina, and the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Vera Songwe.
The High-Level Panel was established at the Ninth Joint Annual Meetings of the African Union Specialized Technical Committee on Finance, Monetary Affairs, Economic Planning and Integration and the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development in Addis Ababa, in April 2016.
Chaired by President Sirleaf, the High-Level Panel will provide guidance and support to policy dialogues on an African perspective on international migration and create an environment conducive to encouraging the mobilization and effective utilization of political, financial and intellectual resources of migrants for the development of Africa.
Data from the Economic Commission for Africa indicates that contrary to recent media stories more than 80% of African migration occurs within Africa, and only a very small fraction of Africans travel further afield.
In recognition of Adesina’s efforts to improve the lives of the people of Africa through the African Development Bank’s High 5s development priorities, President Sirleaf will confer Liberia’s highest national award on the Bank President.
The Bank is credited with transforming the lives of Liberians through financing road and infrastructure projects, the provision of electricity, and the improvement of water and sanitation services.
The Bank’s Country Strategy Paper (CSP) for Liberia focuses on roads and energy infrastructure, as well as governance and business environment, which are necessary to diversify the economy, improve agricultural production, and increase public service delivery.
The Bank will present two key infrastructure programs to the Board in 2018: the Mano River Union Road Transport Program Phase 2 and the Liberia Scaling up Renewable Energy Project, with a total indicative funding of US $86.9 million. A budget support operation will also be considered by the Board in January 2018.
