Monrovia, Liberia – A three-day Quarterly Aid Coordination Forum has been organized by the Liberian government through the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning with the goal of monitoring both the advancements and difficulties in aid implementation and coordination throughout the nation.
Deputy Minister for Economic Management at the Ministry of Finance and Development Depue Y. Zuo, who opened the meeting on Tuesday, November 26, 2024, praised development partners, particularly the Swedish government, for their support of Liberia’s national development strategy.
He asserted that progress is a process rather than an event and praises Sweden for helping to formulate the National progress Plan, claiming that Sweden contributed funding for the plan’s creation.
According to Deputy Minister Zuo, data collecting is the first step in comparative analysis in development, and without data, no plan or action could be taken.
He disclosed that Liberia’s project dashboard’s quarterly report on aid coordination and execution was still being developed.
The deputy minister also stated that donor partners must be aware of the Paris Declaration, which placed greater focus on the efficiency and accountability of aid in terms of reciprocity in the execution of development.
In addition to thanking the aid coordination section, Minister Zuo asked the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning experts present to perform their jobs with greater enthusiasm.
In light of this, he said, the Paris Agreement underscores that wealthy nations should be the first to provide financial aid to less wealthy and more vulnerable nations, while also, for the first time, promoting voluntary contributions from other Partners.
According to the Deputy Minister, the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness is a realistic, action-oriented road map to enhance the quality of aid and its influence on development. It was adopted during the High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, which took place in Paris from February 28 to March 2, 2005.
Kerstin Jonsson Cisse, the Swedish Embassy’s Deputy Head of Mission, said she was pleased that the Liberian government had extended the them invitation for the meeting.
According to Madam Cisse, “knowing who does what and why seems necessary, especially when it comes to aid coordination.”
“This forum is about our shared commitment to strengthen and manage our external resources and to make sure that we collaborate successfully in implementing our projects in various sectors and institutions,” stated Alice E. Williams, Assistant Minister for External Resources and Debt Management.
According to Assistant Minister Williams, the conference provided a venue for reviewing the current state of ongoing projects as well as upcoming initiatives that aim to address program concerns and identify a collaborative effort to discover effective and efficient solutions.
“This forum is not just about progress, but also about the challenges and the future of these projects.”
