Brussels, 13/01/2006 (Agence Europe) - On 16 January, Louis Michel, European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, will attend the investiture of Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the first woman to be elected to presidential office on the African continent, winning 59.4% of the vote. On Friday, a spokesperson for Michel, Amadeu Atlafaj Tardio, told reporters that Ms Sirleaf taking office highlighted the existence of a new generation of African women gradually taking up positions at the highest level in their countries, in both the private and the public sector. He quoted Rwanda, where women account for 14% of the parliament (the global average hovers around 15%), South Africa and Mozambique, which also have a relatively high proportion of women MPs, and Burundi where seven of the country's ministers, including the Foreign Minister, are women.
During his visit to Monrovia, Louis Michel and the Liberian government will then sign the Country Strategy Document and the Indicative Programme approved by the Commission in November 2005. This will enable cooperation to be stepped up with a West African country ravaged by a 14-year war that claimed tens of thousands of victims and almost entirely destroyed its infrastructure. “After 14 years of war, the people of Liberia have successfully carried out free elections,” said Mr Michel. “As we all know, the challenges facing Ms Sirleaf are immense. We have to rise to them together, by stepping up the cooperation we began after the peace agreement was signed,” explains Michel in a press release. Since the August 2003 peace agreement, Burundi has received Commission assistance worth €186.5 million, including €122.9 for disarmament, reconstruction, rehabilitation, the reintegration of refugees and displaced persons, local and rural development and the reorganisation of public services; €44.6 million in humanitarian aid; and €19 million for food security operations. Further operations are planned for 2006, including €16.4 million for humanitarian aid and €4 million for food security operations.