Diplomat Dan - Yet Again
I didn’t get to go on my usual Friday afternoon walk to the grocery store today. Instead, I had a longer-than-usual Friday because I was representing us (as in U.S.) at a consultation forum. Our new Mission Director had been asked to give comments at a Minerals and Mining Law Consultation Forum and, since he left the country a couple of days ago, he asked if I could give the comments for USAID. Given it’s roughly in my area of interest, I said sure.So this is what I said:
“Minister Sendolo
Deputy Minister Russ
All Protocols Observed
“Good morning, I’m Dan Terrell, the Senior Rule of Law Advisor for USAID/Liberia. On behalf of USAID Mission Director John Mark Winfield, I wish to thank the Ministry of Lands Mines and Energy for organizing this forum and for inviting USAID, the U.S. State Department and the international community to participate in today’s discussions.
“Given Liberia’s natural wealth and the Government of Liberia’s decision to utilize that wealth to improve the lives of all Liberians, USAID commends the Ministry of Land Mines and Energy for its efforts to update the Minerals and Mining Law through a transparent and inclusive process. The outcome from these consultations and legislative amendments should produce a law that promotes a strong investment and business climate for the minerals sector and that also ensures that all parties adhere to their social and environmental responsibilities. While sustainable economic growth begins with a sound policy and legal framework, such as we will discuss today, economic prosperity is only realized when that framework is fully implemented for the benefit of all.
“Liberia’s Agenda for Transformation recognizes that concessions, to include mining concessions, will continue to be a major driver of economic growth for the country, but that the transformation strategy requires a different mode of administration than in the past. The changes that flow from these consultations will set forth the new mode of administration that leads to outcomes articulated in the Agenda for Transformation such as: consultations with affected communities; improvements in everyday livelihoods; and the establishment of links between local businesses and entrepreneurs and large concessions. It is these outcomes that will move Liberia forward towards prosperity.
“Again, thank you for inviting USAID to be part of this process.”
Yes, I wrote this myself (demonstrating my mastery of the art of not really saying anything . . . or at least anything controversial). And yes, I had to have it cleared by our public relations office. I was, of course, speaking for my country so . . . somebody had to make sure it was ok.