FOREIGN
RELATIONS
Liberia
has maintained traditionally cordial relations with the West.
Liberia currently also maintains diplomatic relations with Libya,
Cuba, and China.
Liberia
is a founding member of the United Nations and its specialized
agencies and is a member of the African Union (AU), the Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Development
Bank (ADB), the Mano River Union (MRU), and the Non-Aligned Movement.
During the administration of Charles Taylor, relations between Liberia and its West African neighbors became seriously strained. West African countries backed by the African Union and the United Nations negotiated a peace agreement in Accra, Ghana that subsequently led to the exile of Charles Taylor to Nigeria in August 2003. With the election of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberia has seen significant improvements in relations with its West African neighbors and the wider world. Relations between Liberia and its immediate neighbors in the Mano River region are back on track, and efforts are underway to strengthen relations with other countries. Liberia currently holds the chairmanship of the reinvigorated Mano River Union. Liberia signed a non-aggression pact with Sierra Leone when newly elected President Ernest Bai Koroma visited in September 2007. Liberia is a major proponent of regional integration, and the Foreign Ministry in Monrovia now issues ECOWAS passports to its citizens for easy travel in the region. Liberia hosted the conference of ECOWAS Defense Chiefs in November 2007.
Liberia has taken steps to forge closer ties with Western countries, especially the United States. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has in recent months visited several Western countries, including the United Kingdom, Sweden, Norway, Spain, France, and Germany. President Sirleaf has also visited China and Libya, with whom Liberia maintains close ties.
U.S.-LIBERIA
RELATIONS
Congress appropriated $100,000 in 1819 for the establishment of Liberia (and resettlement of freemen and freed slaves from North America) by the American Colonization Society, led by prominent Americans such as Francis Scott Key, George Washington's nephew Bushrod, Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and Presidents Monroe, Adams, and Jackson. The first group of settlers arrived in Liberia from the United States in the 1820s. The United States, which officially recognized Liberia in 1862, shared particularly close relations with Liberia during the Cold War. The outbreak of civil war in Liberia and the long dominance of Charles Taylor soured bilateral relations. However, Liberia now counts the United States as its strongest supporter in its democratization and reconstruction efforts. Since the end of Liberia's civil war in 2003, the United States has contributed over $750 million toward Liberia's reconstruction and development and more than $750 million to support the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL). The U.S. plans to commit another $342 million bilaterally and through UNMIL in fiscal year 2008. In February 2008, President Bush visited Liberia, where he held his fourth one-on-one meeting with President Sirleaf since Sirleaf's inauguration in January 2006.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) implements the U.S.
Government's development assistance program. USAID's post-conflict rebuilding
strategy focuses on reintegration and is increasingly moving towards a
longer-term development focus. Rehabilitation efforts include national and
community infrastructure projects, such as expanding access to electricity,
building roads, refurbishing government buildings, training Liberians in
vocational skills, promoting business development, and improving livelihoods
while protecting Liberia's forests. USAID also funds basic education programs,
improving education for children, focusing on girls, and training teachers. In
the health area, USAID programs include primary health care clinics, HIV/AIDS
prevention, and a large malaria program. USAID supports rule of law programs,
establishing legal aid clinics and victim abuse centers, training judges and
lawyers, community peace building and reconciliation efforts, and
anti-corruption projects to promote transparency and accountability in public
sector entities. USAID is also providing support to strengthen the legislature
and other political processes. USAID is strengthening civil society's role in
delivering services and advocating good governance. Total USAID funding program
for these programs in FY 2007 was $65.9 million.
Principal U.S. Officials
Ambassador--Donald E. Booth
Deputy Chief of Mission--Brooks A. Robinson
Management Counselor--Michael Bajek
Political/Economic Counselor--Steven Koutsis
Economic Officer--Lucy Abbott
Public Affairs Officer--Meg Riggs
Consular Officer--Alma Gurski
The U.S. Embassy is located on 111 United Nations Drive, Mamba Point, Monrovia, tel: 011-231-77-054825; fax: 231-77-010370.
