On Friday June 18, 2021, as part of the resumption of cooperation with the Pays de la Loire region in various fields, HE Mr. Ernest NIYOKINDI, Ambassador of Burundi in France, made a working visit on June 18, 2021 in the Town Hall of MANS, one of the towns of the Pays de la Loire region.
The Ambassador was received by Mr. Stéphane LE FOLL, Mayor of the City of Mans, former Minister of Agriculture from 2012 to 2017 and his team.
After the Mayor’s welcome, in which the major sectors that could be the subject of cooperation were detailed, the floor was given to the Ambassador of Burundi in France. The latter gave a general overview of the socio-political and economic situation of the country and welcomed the initiative to resume cooperation between the Pays de la Loire and BURUNDI.
In the field of health: it was agreed to carry out a cooperation project between the city of MANS and that of BUJUMBURA.
This project would consist in the management of diseases such as hepatitis B and C in addition to HIV-AIDS with the target of mothers and children.
During the discussions, it was pointed out the actions that would be carried out, among others: determining the training actions for technicians requiring the on-site trainers to come and those that could be provided by videoconference, studying the possibility of bringing in the trainers on site, specifying local needs in collaboration with local technicians working in the field of health, carry out an inventory of fixtures at the level of the city of Bujumbura, inventory the infrastructures, list the level of support, transmit the data to the Town Hall of Mans .
Taking the floor, H.E the Ambassador promised to put in contact the team of the Town Hall of Mans and the authority of the Ministry in charge of Health in BURUNDI to discuss the practical modalities of feasibility of the project.
Given the opportunities offered by the city of Mans, it was agreed to explore the possibilities of signing a cooperative partnership in the fields of Health, Agri-food and University Research.
The visit ended with the exchange of gifts and the two parties agreed to meet again in September 2021 to continue discussions in order to arrive at a Partnership Document which will allow the implementation of certain actions of common interest in the above-mentioned sectors.
