Monrovia, Liberia- November 27, 2015: The Government of the Republic of Liberia held a one day management meeting with delegates of the Japanese Government on the implementation of the Counterpart Value Fund which is being funded under the Japanese Food Assistance Program (KR).

The meeting which was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs brought together high level government officials including Commerce and Industry Minister Hon. Axel M. Addy, Deputy Commerce Minister Cyril A. Allen II, Japanese Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, H.E Kaoru Yoshimura, Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Hon. Elias Shoniyin, Hon. Charles McClain of the Ministry of Agriculture among others. Focused on the effectiveness of KR project on food security in Liberia and the conditions for the implementation of the project, the meeting provided a platform for the presentation of a comprehensive report on the status of all projects by all stakeholders to the Japanese Government.

Speaking during opening remarks, Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Hon. Elias Shoniyin welcomed the body and expressed for the level of work being done by the Japanese Government in Liberia. For his part, Commerce Minister Axel Addy who chaired the meeting praised the program for bringing transformations to the Liberian economy.

At the close of the meeting, Ambassador Yoshimura of Japan expressed his country’s support for the project advised that the Government of Liberia to create more media buzz around the project and commended the achievements being made by the project. He suggested that farmers should adapt to using cooperatives as an easier means to work with the Ministry of Agriculture. He ended by restating the Japanese Government’s support to the development process of Liberia.

The Food Assistance Project (KR) has been a vital part of Liberia’s food security initiative. The project supplies rice and petroleum products to the country which is delivered by the Ministry of Commerce to vendors who then monetize the products and deposit in the CVF Fund account at the Central Bank of Liberia, The funds are then used with the approval of the Japanese Government to implement National Priority Projects. Some of the current projects being implemented under this initiative are (Paddy Rice Project, 5 Rice warehouses, 3 bridges in Grand Cape Mount County, The LIFE FUND, MoCI MSME Project).