Liberian President to Visit Atlanta May 10-13

The president of West Africa nation of Liberia is ready to visit Atlanta later this week, at the end of a WE visit.

Joseph N. Boakai, Sr.the former vice president who narrowly won the presidency in November, will stop in the Georgia capital after visiting Dallas for the Business Council for Africa2024 US Africa Business Summit.

According to the conference schedule, Mr. Boakai will join his presidential counterparts from Malawi, Angola, Botswana And Green capaccompanied by the vice-president of Nigeriadeputy prime minister of Lesotho and chief minister of Sierra Leone at the event.

The advice is a WashingtonA trade association whose members represent a large portion of foreign investment on the African continent. Over the past years, Coca Cola Co. has been one of its core members, although the current list of members is not publicly available.

While Mr. Boakai’s agenda in Atlanta is still fluid, members of the Liberian diaspora are working to set a time when the president can engage with the community and sit down with city and state leaders. the state. THE Georgia Africa Legislative Caucus is also involved.

Bior Broplehexecutive director of Liberian Association of Metropolitan Atlantaor LAMA, said the 25,000-strong “thriving” community looks forward to welcoming the president.

“We look forward to showcasing the central role the diaspora plays in Liberia’s development,” Bropleh said. Global Atlanta.

The president’s entourage in Dallas will include the ministers of Foreign Affairs, Commerce, Agriculture, Mines, Information and Tourism, as well as the head of National Investment Commission and the national telecommunications company. It’s unclear how many of those officials will also make the trip to Atlanta.

A statement from the Liberian Executive Mansion sets the dates in Atlanta for May 10-13 and says only that the president “will meet with investors, business leaders and friends of Liberia.”

It would not be the first time that the Liberian leader, who has family in Atlanta, has visited the city.

As vice president, Mr. Boakai came to Atlanta for a four-day visit in 2015, during which he thanked global health institutions like the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, The Carter Center and the Morehouse School of Medicine for their help in the fight against the Ebola epidemic in 2013-2014.

During a 2012 visit, he chaired a Liberian investment forum in Robert Woodruff Library At Atlanta University Center.

Former president Ellen Johnson Sirleafunder which Mr. Boakai was vice president, spoke in Atlanta at a World Affairs Council of Atlanta forum in 2018, just weeks after presiding over a peaceful transfer of power that earned Liberia international applause.

Mr. Boakai narrowly lost the 2017 election runoff. George Weaha former football star.

Liberia had an official diplomatic presence in Georgia until January 2023, when the country’s honorary consulates in the United States were relieved of their duties with the hiring of an outside contractor for visa processing.

Cynthia Blandfordformer honorary consul in Georgia, was instrumental in establishing capacity building agreements between Liberian institutions and the two countries. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and the Georgia Port Authority.

Through the University Consortium for Liberiait also contributed to promoting university exchanges, notably thanks to a grant of 5 million dollars from the United States Agency for International Development create a national program to encourage the preservation of tropical forests in Liberia. THE University of Georgia was tapped to lead the initiative, which included many other university partners.

Ms. Blandford, who participated in Mr. Boakai’s previous visits to Atlanta, met again with the president-elect at a Corporate Council on Africa roundtable in December.

According to a press release from the Liberian Embassy in Washington, Boakai will speak on agribusiness opportunities at the Dallas forum.

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