By Frank Sainworla, Jr., fsainworla@yahoo.com
China, Russia and other eastern states have been put on notice that they can continue to friends of Liberia is they are not friend of the United State, Liberia’s traditional ally.
He did not mention China and Russia by name, but declared to the world from the joint assembly chambers of the Capitol Building in Monrovia:
“If you’re not friend of America, you are not our friend,” President George Manneh Weah declared today, Monday, January 30, 2023 in his last State of the Nation Address to the Legislature for his first term of office, as he prepares to contest the next presidential election in nine months.
The Liberian leader’s open declaration comes as the United States embarks on a campaign to consolidate its relationship with African and other countries around the world in the wake of increasingly strained relations between China and Russia. It also comes several weeks after President Weah attended the Biden Democracy forum in Washington held with leaders of dozens of African countries.
“The democratic credential of Liberia will be safely guarded,” President Weah asserted.
The Liberian leader reported that in response to the need to buttress democracy in Africa, President Joe Biden promised to give US$165M this year for elections around Africa, with Liberia is expected to receive US$20 million.
According to a paper in the Brookings written on the Brookings Institute’s website in January 2021, “President Joe Biden has committed to restoring American leadership globally.” Biden, democracy, and Africa (brookings.edu)
Last year, President Weah strongly condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, saying the war is having a harsh impact on Ukraine just as the rest of the world.
The Ukraine-Russia war, which enters its first year on February 24 this year dominated the speeches and other discussions of the 77th UN General Assembly in New York in 2022 with Liberians joining the fray.
“Just as the Ukrainian people are enduring the harsh impact of this unwarranted military incursion, the rest of the world is feeling the harsh consequences of economic downturn caused by disruptions in global supply chains, food insecurity, and rising prices of basic goods and services,” {resident Weah told the United Nations General Assembly.
Meanwhile, Liberia is to become non-permanent member of the UN Security Council from 2026-2027, President Weah disclosed on Monday.
He told the joint session of the Legislature that Liberia’s membership to the UN Security Council was endorsed by the African Union.