Monrovia, Liberia – A team from the U.S. Government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) will travel to Liberia on September 22, 2025, as part of an official mission to determine the country’s preparedness to reap the benefits of its second MCC Compact, according to Finance and Development Planning Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan.
This visit takes place before the MCC’s next regular board meeting in December 2025, when it will be decided whether the nation is still eligible for a second Compact. The visit is also a significant step toward potentially reviving Liberia’s road toward MCC Compact development after a brief lull associated with the political transition in the US and the new US administration’s agenda.
At a media briefing last week, Minister Ngafuan stated, “Liberia was deemed eligible for the development of a second MCC Comoact in December 2024, and we received a technical team in January 2025 to begin preparatory work, including the hiring of consultants to undertake the vital Constraints Analysis, which aims to identify the key constraints to growth and development in Liberia. But that process was halted because of the administration change and changes in the aid framework.”
The Minister noted that recent discussions with U.S. stakeholders have reignited intense interest in Liberia’s development possibilities and the country’s eligibility for the MCC is still being actively considered. On the fringes of President Trump’s US-Africa Summit at the White House, the ministry said, there were productive talks with the U.S. State Department and the new MCC leadership in Washington, DC.
“Additionally, we are working with the U.S. Embassy in Monrovia, which has been assisting us in reaffirming Liberia’s eligibility for a second Compact. Together with the results of the MCC team’s visit to Liberia, these engagements should assist present a strong argument for Liberia’s ongoing eligibility,” he stated.
The forthcoming MCC team, which includes officials and economists, will be in Liberia for more than a week. The team will confer extensively with stakeholders from the public and business sectors, as well as civil society and the media, during their mission. Their objective is to carry out a Constraints Analysis in order to pinpoint the main obstacles to inclusive, sustainable economic growth and identify the industries most in need of MCC assistance.
“Under the current U.S. administration, the MCC is adopting a win-win development approach,” Minister Ngafuan stated. “They want to help industries that will not only help Liberia grow but also create opportunities for U.S. investment.”
According to Minister Ngafuan, President Boakai and President Trump’s recent exchanges during the US-Africa Summit brought favorable attention to Liberia, which is being used to the people’s advantage.
