Washington D.C. May 7, 2025. In a landmark address at the Gabriel L. Dennis Foreign Service Institute, President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr. emphasized a new direction for Liberia's foreign policy, highlighting the country’s new development program called the Arrest Agenda for Inclusive Development (AAID). The event marked the relaunch of the Ambassadorial Lecture and Seminar Series and is set to attract key figures from the diplomatic community and government.
The President's speech was steeped in historical reflection and forward-thinking strategy. He acknowledged the critical role the Institute has played since its inception in 1951, underscoring its significance in cultivating diplomats who have been instrumental in safeguarding Liberia’s sovereignty throughout a tumultuous past.
"Liberia’s history is filled with heroic feats," President Boakai noted, drawing on Liberia’s checkered diplomatic history from 1847 to 1947, which he referred to as the "Century of Survival". During this period, Liberian diplomats, despite the absence of a standing army, successfully maintained the country's territorial integrity amidst colonial pressures.
With this legacy of resilience as a backdrop, President Boakai introduced the "ARREST Agenda," a comprehensive strategy aimed at reinvigorating Liberia's developmental policy framework. While details of the agenda were not exhaustively outlined, its nomenclature suggests a robust approach towards addressing contemporary socio-economic. Political and diplomatic challenges.
President Boakai’s address also touched upon Liberia’s historical role in the decolonization process and the African Liberation struggle, emphasizing the nation’s ongoing commitment to these principles as Africa’s first independent republic. He expressed a sense of historical obligation to support not only Liberia’s sovereignty but also broader African unity and cooperation.
The audience, comprised of members of the diplomatic corps, senate and house committee chairs on foreign affairs, and students at the Foreign Service Institute.
As Liberia stands poised at the cusp of a fundamentally transformative era in its foreign policy, President Boakai's ARREST Agenda could serve as a cornerstone for action, embodying the country’s enduring commitment to peace, security, and multilateral cooperation as well as a clarion call for the future, urging collaboration and innovation to ensure that Liberia maintains its place on the world stage.
Al-Jerome Anastas Chede
Minister Counselor
Press and Public Affairs
Embassy of Liberia
Washington DC
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