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Press conference held by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation, His Excellency Ambassador Albert SHINGIRO, on the achievements of the Ministry for the 2nd term of 2020-2021.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation, His Excellency Ambassador Albert SHINGIRO presented this Wednesday, January 20, 2021, the achievements of the Ministry counting for the second term, on the basis of the action plans of the Government and that of our Ministry for the period from 2020 to 2021, as well as on the basis of innovative initiatives other than action plans.

This presentation focused on four main axes of communication, namely the strengthening of good governance, the strengthening and extension of development cooperation, the strengthening of diplomatic communication as well as the consolidation of a strategic relationship between diaspora and the Government.

Regarding the strengthening of good governance, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation focused firstly on the fight against corruption and economic embezzlement, and on the review of the processing time of files in order to avoid administrative slowness. Second, the Ministry invested in building the capacity of the staff in responsible management of public affairs. Third, it was about strengthening the culture of openness, transparency and accountability. Fourth, it concerned the rationalization of expenditure in the Foreign Service. Fifth, the Ministry continued its vast reform project for strengthening the governance in cooperation with technical and financial partners and foreign NGOs. Sixth, to ensure good governance within this Ministry, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation continued the work of establishing policies and strategies that will allow the Ministry to fully assume the role of promoting Burundi in the concert of nations and play a key role in the implementation of the NDP Burundi 2018-2027.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation also spoke about strengthening and expanding development cooperation. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation first clarified that bilaterally, the second term of 2020-2021 was marked by giant steps in strengthening relations of friendship and cooperation with friendly countries, which led to several high-level visits that has resulted in the signing of several cooperation agreements, productive diplomatic and political consultations and the re-launch of joint cooperation commissions with these friendly countries of Burundi.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation then announced, that at the multilateral level, the term was characterized by the victory of truth over the lie of those who had succeeded in deceiving the vigilance of certain partners by imposing sanctions on Burundi.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation also announced that Burundi has been removed from the agenda of the United Nations Security Council and His Excellency Ambassador Albert SHINGIRO expressed his gratitude to all the countries that supported the legitimate request of Burundi in this campaign which enabled our country to regain its rightful place, and which it deserves in the concert of Nations.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation also spoke on the sanctions of the International Organization of Francophonie which were also unconditionally lifted. In this regard, he addressed his thanks to the Member States who supported Burundi’s request to recover its rights as a full member of the OIF.

Regarding the strengthening of diplomatic communication, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation indicates that he met the Heads of diplomatic and consular missions and the Representatives of Regional and International Organizations accredited to Burundi in the month of October 2020. He also announced that it was a good opportunity to discuss the strengthening of Cooperation in general and the fight against Covid-19 in particular.

Before concluding, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation also spoke about the consolidation of a strategic relationship between the diaspora and the Government where he insisted on the motivation of the members of the diaspora to come and invest in Burundi, and that a draft Joint Ministerial Ordinance on the exemption of their personal effects just in case of definitive return to the country, is being prepared.

Finally, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation reiterated his gratitude to all Burundi’s partners, especially those who supported the country in the advocacy campaign for the removal of the sanctions that had been unilaterally imposed on Burundi. He encouraged those who are still hesitant to follow the footstep of the United Nations Security Council and the International Organization of Francophonie in order to definitively turn the page of conflictual relations.

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