As the Liberian leader has written the Senate informing the August body of his absence from the country from 1 November to 23 November “to hold a series of bilateral and multilateral meetings with his counterparts and business executives,” the Liberia Maritime head, Lenn Eugene Nagbe, has hinted possible outcomes from the president’s extended trip outside of the country.
On Tuesday, a dispatch from Doha, Qatar, where the president is Guest of Honor of the FIFA World Cup, disclosed that President George Manneh Weah will not be returning home until 18 December.
According to Commissioner Nagbe, when he detailed the President’s trip at the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism regular press briefing on Thursday via Whats App audio call, he noted that it is necessary for the President to extend his trip abroad due to other engagements requiring his travel to France, Monaco and the United States of America.
The Maritime head explained the President’s engagements outside of Liberia, such as while in Morocco, Dr. Weah had several meetings with Moroccan officials, a number of Heads of state as well as other important guests.
During his stay in Morocco, Nagbe disclosed that President Weah met with the Sovereign Minister of Hungary to continue the bilateral discussions that was already initiated, adding that the Hungarian government committed US$50 million towards supporting business investments in Liberia.
He stated that the President extends his gratitude to the Hungarian people, noting that it is the first good news from the president’s trip abroad.
In addition to the US$50 million, Nagbe said President Weah visited the largest port in Morocco, Port Tanger, where he managed to get the port authority to agree to provide technical support for the improvement of the Freeport of Monrovia.
He said after the President’s visit to Morocco, there have been initial discussions from the management of the sea port of Monrovia to dispatch technical team to meet with its counterpart in Tanger to begin work, adding that upon the arrival of the team to Liberia, assessment will be done to expand the seaport and improve the technical capability of the port.
President Weah then departed to honor his national duty at the Climate Change Conference in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, alongside other world leaders and, according to Nagbe, the President was designated by his African colleagues to champion the climate issues in West Africa.
He further stated that, the reason President Weah was designated to champion West Africa is that Liberia has about 40% of the Guinea forest that host all of the biodiversity in West Africa.
The LiMA Commissioner revealed that the Liberian leader emphasized for the climate financing in Egypt, wherein poor countries that are affected by climate change should be compensated and, as the result of President Weah’s speech, Liberia is now among other African countries to benefit from several billions of dollars which will be distributed among the affected countries.
“There is an agreement now among world leaders that countries like Liberia that have so much of the lungs of the planet, which is the rainforest, should be compensated for not exploiting their natural resources, and that it was a critical meeting and the President used the opportunity to interact with other world leaders to advance some of the bilateral agreements he made with them,” Nagbe said.
During his visit to Egypt, among the President’s several meetings, he set up a special delegate to conclude on an agreement for a technical team, which includes the Minister of Public Works, Minister of State without Portfolio, among others, to construct special projects, including the Greenville, Zewdru and Buchanan roads.
Nagbe disclosed that the assessment team from Egypt will be in the country on the 27 November.
He highlighted that of the President’s various destinations after he left Egypt on the 9th of November, Dr. Weah arrived in Paris midnight the same day to attend the Peace Forum in Paris, where he served as Special Guest of Honor at the forum that started on the 10 November.
He noted that, upon the arrival of the President, he had preparatory meetings with the officials of the French government and the organizers of the Forum on the 11th of November; and then attended the Forum from the 11-13.
Nagbe said, on the 14th of November, the Liberian leader had a meeting with the French President and the next day, he met with the Liberian community in France.
Nagbe further stated that the President rested on November 16 and continued his official meetings on the 17th of November and lastly departed for Doha, Qatar on November 18 and arrived almost midnight on the same day.
He said amidst the misinformation circulating around the President’s travel, it is the tradition of any President to arrive a day or two before the official ceremony of any event and in so doing it is the responsibility of the government to properly inform the public of the President’s trip.
On the 30th of November, President Weah is expected to have a one-day meeting with the Prince of Monaco to discuss the future of Liberian youth concerning sports and business.
“President Weah has been in Qatar for four days but it seems long because he decided to undertake all his engagements in one trip. This president has not taken any medical trips outside of the country neither has he taken any vacation, so it is unfair to the president for people to still criticize his hard work,” Nagbe further explained.
He said all of the games that are designated for the President and his delegates to watch are all complimentary of FIFA.
While in Qatar, the President setup a special delegation to visit an Academy in the Emirate to conclude an agreement to construct a sports academy in the country and to train young athletes and coaches.
On 13 December, President Weah will be attending the United States-African Leaders Summit at the invite of the President of the United States of America, Joe Biden, according to a dispatch. LINA
