PRESS RELEASE The Liberian-American Friendship Organization, LIAFO, a non-for- profit organization fostering US-Liberia relations has initiated a Sister-City-Relations between Washington D C and the city of Monrovia, Liberias capital. A three person delegation from LIAFO, headed by its President J K-K Peah last Friday met with with the Washington D C Mayor office to initiate the establishment of a Sister-City- Relations. Welcoming the LIAFOs delegation to the Washington D C City Hall on behalf of the District Secretary was Mr Robert Pierno, Special Assistant to the Secretary who welcomed the delegation and conveyed Mayor Vincent C. Gray great interest in establishing sister-city-relations with other foreign capitals. Mr. Pierno said Mayor Gray and the city government recognize the special bond between Washington D C and the City of Monrovia as both capitals are named after former United States Presidents, George Washington and James Monroe, respectively. The LIAFO President, J K K Peah, speaking for his organization said, they were pleased for the warmth hospitality accorded his delegation and for accepting his organizations request to meet with the Mayor to discuss the establishment of a sister- city- relations between Washington D C and Monrovia. The LIAFO president informed the city government of Washington D C that there are tremendous opportunities to be accrued by each city from the creation of a sister-city-relations between Washington D C and Monrovia. Mr Peah underscored the need for both cities to tap into the opportunities both offer, emphasizing that if each of the opportunities each city offer can interface, especially Monrovia a greater good will come to both cities. The LIAFO President impressed upon the City Mayor and city government for assistance for the city government of Monrovia in the areas of sanitation, city police assistance, municipal governance and other areas the city government would deem a need for efficiency. The Mayors representative to the meeting told the LIAFO delegation that because of the upcoming November mid term election, Mayor Gray would defer the official establishment of sister-city-relations with Monrovia to next year after a new government is sworn in but would now encourage exchanges between him and the city government of Washington D C and Mayor Clara Doe and her city government. The District Secretary office assured the LIAFO delegation that the Mayor and city government would welcome the Monrovia City Mayor to Washington dc or through other exchanges and interaction before the official signing of the sister-city-relations if the request is made either through LIAFO or the Monrovia city government. Washington DC city government has also pledged assistance to the city police of Monrovia based on the request of the LIAFO delegation, disclosing that the Mayor office will contact the head of the Washington D C Metropolitan Police Chief and put him in touch with LIAFO to eventually link his department with his counterpart in Monrovia to work out what assistance his police organization can provide the MCC police. The metropolitan government of Washington D C has also pledged to contact the Chancellor of Washington D C school district act mobilize the used books and computers from the school district for assistance LIAFO for schools in Liberia, acting on plead from the organization, especially moved by a passionate plead made Ms. Mouna Farhat an official on the organizations delegation who narrated an experience she encountered when she attended a school year end program and saw the books from that school year were destroyed and out of shock, said, wow, those books could be sent t Liberia, students there so desperately need these books and they are being destroyed”. The Washington D C metropolitan government also pledged to act on LIAFOs request for help in the health sector in Liberia by donating those used equipment from the district hospitals which, the organizer stressed, could be more of great relief to Liberia by contacting the company responsible to change equipment in the district hospitals for them to turn those used equipment over the organization. The Washington D C metropolitan government informed the LIAFO delegation that the Mayor office will assist the organization with office housing as soon as it is ready for relocating to Washington D C as the delegation earlier made know their intention to move Washington DC from Rhode Island. The Mayor representative to the meeting told the LIAFO delegation that the city has 22 sister-city- relations and eight of which was created by the current mayor which shows how the Mayor attaches importance to developing ties and working with other foreign capitals around the world. He emphasized that, the city has a sister-city-relations with Addis Abba and Monrovia will be the second in Africa with which Washington DC will have a sister-city- relations. The Special Assistant to the District Secretary, Mr. Robert Pierno said there are several areas of assistance the District can offer the Liberian-American Friendship and the city of Monrovia, underscoring their appreciation for five point scope of cooperation, namely, education, health, municipal governance, culture and tourism, and investment presented by the organization as a preliminary guide going forward into a subsequent Washington D C – Monrovia Sister-City-Relations. The Sister-City -Relations is a program designed to connect Liberias fifteen sub-divisional capitals with cities in the United States with the focus to interfacing local communities in Liberia with communities in the United States to directly tap into th enormous opportunities both communities can offer to the other. LIAFO believes that when local Liberian communities directly interface communities in the United States, they can directly tap into the enormous opportunities which US-Liberia relations offer and eventually fetch for themselves development and opportunities long time coming. Signed: Jeroy Cummings____________ Director Press/Public Affairs
Posted on: Mon, 03 Mar 2014 23:32:02 +0000
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