Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Linda Thomas Greenfield and a delegation from the African Development Bank (AfDB) led by Dr. Donald Kaberuka and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). 

According to a dispatch from Johannesburg, South Africa, the meeting with the American delegation was focused on U.S - Liberia relations and discussion on key continental and global issues. The American Government’s delegation reiterated its commendation to President Sirleaf for her extraordinary and exemplary leadership role in eradicating the Ebola virus and the Liberian people for standing with the government in defeating the virus. They pledged to stand with the country during its post-Ebola recovery processes and undertakings.

During the meeting with the African Development Bank’s delegation headed by Dr. Donald Kaberuka which was also attended by representatives of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and officials of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), the Liberian leader pleaded for the AfDB and UNDP’s support to the APRM which is the continent’s premier governance tool.

She pointed out that the two groups as strategic partners to the African Union, needed to stand with the APRM which is currently faced with resource constraints to ensure the fully revitalization of the secretariat and support to the work of peer review by the Panel of Eminent Persons which is even more critical.

Liberia’s Finance and Development Planning Minister and Chairperson of the APRM Committee of Focal Point, Mr. Amara Konneh and Ambassador Fatuma Ndangiza, Chairperson of the APRM Panel of Eminent Persons, provided updates on the current state of the APRM to the AfDB and UNDP officials and emphasized the need to support the work of the APRM.

For his part, African Development Bank’s President Dr. Donald Kaberuka emphasized the need for an impact assessment as a key basis for revitalizing and reviving the APRM and said the Bank has been committed to the works that are of concern to the APRM for a long time.

He indicated that there was the need to mainstream and sustain the processes undertaken by the APRM and committed the AfDB to supporting the effort and work of the APRM.