President Sirleaf Attends One-Day MRU Summit in Conakry, Guinea

(MONROVIA, LIBERIA – Friday, June 14, 2012) President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is in the Guinean capital, Conakry, attending a one-day Extraordinary Session of the Mano River Union (MRU).

The Mano River Union includes the neighboring countries of Sierra Leone, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire and host, Guinea. President Sirleaf currently chairs the four-member organization.

Accompanying the Liberian President to Conakry are the Ministers of Justice, Defense and Information, Cllr. Christiana Tah, and Honorables Brownie Samukai and Lewis Brown, respectively.

According to an Executive Mansion release, while there are standing items on the agenda, the one-day Extraordinary Summit is expected to be overshadowed by recent developments along the Liberia-Côte d’Ivoire border.

Already, a high-powered Liberian delegation has ended an official visit to Côte d’Ivoire where discussions were held with Ivorian authorities about recent developments along the border. The delegation has joined the Liberian President and delegation in Guinea for the Summit.  That delegation is headed by Foreign Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan, and includes Solicitor-General Cllr. M. Wilkins Wright, Commissioner Abla Gadegbeku Williams of the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization, and Police Inspector-General Chris Massaquoi.

The discussions will also cover the current situation in the troubled sub-regional nations of Mali and Guinea Bissau, as well as finding a common Mano River Union position on the Chairmanship of the African Union ahead of the 19th Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government scheduled for mid-July in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The African Union had deferred the election of a new Chairman of the regional organization, citing the need for more consultations following a deadlock at the 18th Extraordinary Session of Heads of State and Government in Addis Ababa in January.

The MRU Heads of State and Government will also examine the organization’s annual work plan, which is expected to be presented by the MRU Secretary-General.

Meanwhile, while President Sirleaf is away from the country, the Minister of State for Presidential Affairs, Dr. Edward B. McClain, Jr. will chair the Cabinet in consultation with Vice President Joseph N. Boakai, Sr.