President Joseph Nyuma Boakai and European Investment Bank leaders have advanced discussions for a 50million euros rice development program in Liberia.

The meeting took place today in Rome, Italy, and included EIB Vice President for Public Sector in West and Central Africa, Gelsomina Vigliotti, EIB Head of Bioeconomy Division, Felipe Ortega Schllingmann and Senior Economist Blanca Amado Nin, among others.

The 50million euros concessional loan, if approved, will advance the development and production of Liberia’s staple food, rice. EIB Vice President Gelsomina Vigliotti told President Boakai that the EIB was committed to supporting the Government advance self-sufficiency in rice production.

The EIB leaders assured the President that they are committed to a soonest start of the investment program once discussions are concluded. President Boakai welcomed EIB’s plan to invest in Liberia. Such investment, the President said, will advance a key pillar of the Government’s ARREST Agenda.

Liberia’s Agriculture Minister Dr. J. Alexander Nuetah, who was also in the meeting, noted that market access and irrigation systems are crucial priorities in Liberia’s national agriculture development plan and that support from the EIB and other partners must prioritize these areas to increase yield and profitability for agricultural workers.