Finance Minister Stresses an ‘Elevated Private Sector As An Engine Of Growth’ at ECR Group Africa Summit in Brussels

Monrovia, Liberia - The Liberian Government through the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP) will this week host the 9th ROAC-FED Regional Meeting of the West Africa Regional Network of National Authorizing Offices of the European Development Fund.

The meeting is intended to ensure the European Union’s aid is effective in promoting and supporting national and regional development through exchanging ideas and solving problems.

The 9th annual ROAC-FED Meeting is slated to run from Wednesday, January 16 to Friday, January 18, 2019, and is intended to provide the National Authorizing Offices and Regional Integration Organizations within the ECOWAS region a platform to exchange knowledge and experiences and deliberate on issues arising from the implementation of the European Development Fund projects.

The regional meeting is an informative way to promote cooperation and strengthen the national and regional bodies in enhancing development and thus alleviating poverty.

The three days’ meeting which will take place at the Millennium Guest House is also intended to enable participants to gain an insight into ongoing National and Regional Indicative project to ensure EU’s aid effectiveness, improve cooperation between the ACP countries and the EU, as well as to ensure that a strong platform is built for deeper cooperation with the European Union.

The 9th ROAC-FED meeting in Monrovia is a follow-up to the following previously held meetings: Conakry, 2006; Bamako, 2008; Cotonou,2009; Ouagadougou, 2010; Abidjan , 2012; Nouakchott, 2013; Niamey, 2015; as well as Banjul, 2017.

Liberia will be the second Anglophone country to host the ROAC-FED after The Gambia which is the current president and will be turning over to Liberia to serve as the next president during this year’s meeting.

The ROAC-FED network is a framework for sharing experiences and communications between West Africa Offices of the National Authorizing Officer (ONAOs) of the European Development Fund. Their exchanges are based on each country’s experiences and challenges in order to improve the management of EDF resources and daily operation of each ONAO.