Aimed at Validating the National Sectors of the ARREST Agenda
Monrovia, Liberia – After two days of roundtable discussions, the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning and its partners have concluded the process of verifying the national sectors of the ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development.
During the opening ceremony of the discussion, Augustine Ngafuan, Minister of Finance and Development Planning, said that the plan is expected to cost around $7.6 billion USD.
The Liberian government would be required to invest 2.28 billion US dollars, while the private sector and other development players are anticipated to contribute 2.6 billion US dollars, according to Minister Ngafuan.
The expected amount of official development aid is $1.9 billion USD, Minister Ngafuan added.
The minister of finance and development planning noted that roads and other infrastructure in ICT, energy, seaports, and air transportation are important in agriculture, with an emphasis on agribusiness value chains.
“It also emphasizes good governance, including maintaining the rule of law and stepping up the battle against corruption. Along with focusing on better health outcomes through WASH, it also addresses the education value chain, spanning from early childhood education to basic, secondary, higher education, and TVET.”
Minister Ngatuan asserts that the goal of Liberia’s economic diversification is to focus on low-hanging fruit in the travel and tourism industry, which has enormous potential to attract private investment.
“The tourism and agriculture industries are heavily influenced by the private sector, and we anticipate that the private sector will take advantage of this.”
The ultimate objective of AAID, Ngafuan continued, is to raise people’s economic and human development metrics. In order to achieve “Leaving No One Behind!” we must make the most of our resources in the advancement of our nation.
Discussants from a variety of ministries, bureaus, commissions, agencies, and foreign partners came together for the validation.
