Liberia’s Ambassador Designate to France Promises to make the case for Investment, Increased AFD’s Funding, Enhanced bilateral Engagement and More…

Montserrado, Monrovia,-November 25, 2024-Dr. Teeko T. Yorlay, Ambassador designate and plenipotentiary to France has promised that he will use his education, skills, knowledge, behavior, past experience and his competence not only to demonstrate his suitability for the task ahead but also ensure that fruitful and mutual beneficial diplomacy is prioritized the Republic of Liberia and the Republic of France not forgetting all the other nations to which has been accredited.

As the President’s the Chief Messenger and Principal Expediter to be stationed in Paris, former United Nations Conflict Management and Peacebuilding expert intoned that he intends to enhance Liberia-France bilateral relations to the point that Liberia gets increase AFD supports relative to various development initiatives to accelerate the transition towards a fairer and more sustainable world and supports youth development initiatives.

 Mr.Yorlay discussed his decision to “Further explore more avenues on how AFD can incrementally intervene in many other spheres of development activities in Liberia. Including but not limited to AFD, we will search for and build more productive partnerships that will accrue to our country better and much-needed benefits.”

The Ambassador designate and plenipotentiary, specifically his positive desire to proactively drive Liberia’s engagement with UNESCO by  trumpeting and parroting the need for more investments in teachers training, gender equality, youth development and empowerment, and tourism, among others.

As member of UNESCO, Ambassador designate Yorlay emphasized his commitment to ensuring that “Our country continues to accrue necessary dividends through the Ministry of Education; the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, the Ministry of Information Cultural Affairs and Tourism; and the Ministry of Youth and Sports”.

Dr. Teeko Yorlay then concluded his confirmation hearing presentation by highlighting the significance of the appointment and his rededication to the cause of the Republic of Liberia; adding, “I am aware of the responsibilities that come with this role, including being a voice for Liberia’s interests abroad, enhancing our bilateral relations, and encouraging investments that can accelerate our nation’s economic growth. I commit to carry out these duties with integrity, transparency, and dedication and be a results-based ambassador, if confirmed. My education, skills, and practical professional experiences nationally and internationally make me the best suited for this role. Hence, I humbly look forward to securing the Senate’s blessing to allow me to serve as Liberia’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to France”.

Below is the Full Presentation:

The statement made before the Liberian Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs by Teeko Tozay Yorlay, Sr., PhD, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to France, Friday, November 22, 2024

Honorable Chairman, Honorable Co-Chairman, and Honorable Members of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs

Other Senators here present

I. Introduction

Kindly permit me to preamble my statement by extending copious thanks to His Excellency Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr., President of the Republic of Liberia, and the Chief Foreign Policy Architect of our Republic for my preferment and nomination to the position of Liberia’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to France with multiple accreditation to the Kingdom of Spain, the Portuguese Republic, the Hellenic Republic of Greece, the Swiss Confederation, the Republic of Cyprus, the Principality of Monaco and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). My entire family and friends feel very honored and also remain thankful to the President for this preferment.

I speak to you today very conscious of Chairman Senator Abraham Darius Dillon’s usual Solomonic reminder to all nominees to proceed gingerly upon appearance, knowing that a confirmation hearing is analogous to a job interview. Like any other competency-based interview, as an interviewee, I will endeavor to demonstrate how my education, skills, knowledge, behavior, past work, and/or personal experiences establish my competence and suitability for the job of the President’s Chief Messenger and Principal Expediter who will be stationed in Paris helping the Minister of Foreign Affairs implement Liberia’s foreign policy in my areas of assignment.

II. My Vision and Objective

In these challenging times regionally, continentally, and globally, the role of an ambassador extends beyond mere representation. My engagement with the French Republic, a key player in the international arena, will be critical to Liberia’s aspiration for economic development, peace, and sustainable progress. My mission, growing out of our President and Foreign Minister’s, will be to ensure that Liberia’s voice is loudly heard, our interest is fully represented, and our potential conspicuously recognized within the broader context of European partnerships.

If confirmed, I will work to effectively represent Liberia and maintain fruitful and mutually beneficial diplomatic relations between the Republic of Liberia and the French Republic plus Spain, Portugal, Greece, Switzerland, Cyprus, Monaco, UNESCO as well as French and other international organizations associated with them whose involvement in our country would bequeath desirous benefits to our country.

In pursuit of this, especially under the leadership of Her Excellency Minister Sara Beysolow Nyanti, our Republic’s Chief Foreign Policy Implementer, and within the context of promoting economic and development diplomacy enveloped in our liberal foreign policy agenda deeply anchored on Liberalism, I will endeavor to explore creative ways and opportunities to contribute my quota to the rebranding, repositioning, and reimaging of the Paris Mission to foster recommitment and improvement of partnerships that consequentially contribute to our commonwealth’s social, political and economic development objectives within the context of the Agriculture, Roads, Rule of Law, Education, Sanitation and Tourism or the ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development (AAID).

III. My Experience and Academic Suitability

Even though I have earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Management Sciences specializing in Public Administration and a Postgraduate Diploma in Management, of particular relevance to the role I have been nominated to, I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science with an emphasis in International Relations and a Master of Arts degree in International Relations which have provided me with an understanding of the interaction of the state and non-state actors in international politics, equipping me with the requisite skills to understand how states act in the global interstate system and develop an understanding and interpretations of countries and their actors’ behaviors toward other countries and their actors. I commit to using my education to enhance cooperation and address issues of common interest.

In terms of my international experience especially in working within very professional multicultural environments, from June 2021 to October 2024, I worked with the United Nations with efforts aimed at the “maintenance of international peace and security.” I was involved with monitoring, researching, analyzing, reporting and advising the Office of the Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, the Office of the Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, and the Executive Office of the Secretary-General of the United Nations on political developments in the troubled Central Sahel Region encompassing Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger at the Western Africa Division in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations (DPPA/DPO) at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. I provided backstopping support to the work of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) on international peace and security efforts, ensuring sound analysis and early warning, supporting the prevention of conflict, supporting the management of political crises to prevent violent conflicts, supporting efforts aimed at sustaining regional peace, and enhancing partnerships. Before then, I worked with the United Nations Organizations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) in Goma, North Kivu, and was involved with the development and implementation of stabilization, social cohesion and protection of civilian projects.

My United Nations journey has provided me with a richer, hands-on, in-depth and practical understanding of international relations, diplomacy, and the nuances of multilateral engagements that will be very useful in the role I have been nominated to. I am committed to using this invaluable experience to help foster ties not only with France but also with other countries to which I will be accredited, if confirmed. I will pursue and ensure the creation of collaborative networks that facilitate trade, investment, cultural exchange, mutual support and work to show improved and impressive results including meet new challenges through quality diplomatic services that will place Liberia in an enviable and admirable place within the family of countries represented in Paris.

IV. Ensuring that Liberia benefits from France’s Official Development Assistance (ODA)

Honorable Chairman and members of this Honorable Liberian Senate Committee, the French government plans to increase its Official Development Assistance (ODA) to 0.7% of its gross national income (GNI) by 2025 to support African countries, especially as they transition to more sustainable growth models. Dividends from the development assistance are expected to be visible through interventions aimed at addressing the effects of climate change, supporting healthcare service delivery, and prioritizing gender equality, entrepreneurship, and infrastructural development. The French government also intends to ensure that monetary, academic, and scientific cooperation is emphasized. In this light, if confirmed, I intend to explore creative means through which Liberia attracts its share of France’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) annually.

Clearly, France is one of the most powerful countries on the globe with its strong economy that presents opportunities for investments, trade, and commerce. Using commercial diplomacy, if confirmed, I intend to explore and ensure effective engagements on behalf of the Liberian government with French companies, industries, or businesses to see Liberia as their best destination. While doing similarly with other countries to which I will have accreditations, I intend to lead a team that will busy itself with the provision of information about Liberia’s business climate, market conditions, and investment opportunities that will serve as the centripetal force that will curvilinearly direct French and other European businesses to our country.

I wish to indicate that Liberia has renewed and updated its 1981 agreement with the French Development Agency (AFD) followed by the signing of a 1.2-million-euro French Government grant that has funded the studies of 40 Liberian students at the Houphouet-Boigny National Polytechnic Institute (INP-BH) in La Cote d’Ivoire. As AFD supports development initiatives to accelerate the transition towards a fairer and more sustainable world and supports youth development initiatives, if confirmed, I intend to explore more avenues on how AFD can incrementally intervene in many other spheres of development activities in Liberia. Including but not limited to AFD, we will search for and build more productive partnerships that will accrue to our country better and much-needed benefits.

Additionally, I commit to work, among other things, in fulfillment of the “Agreement for the reciprocal promotion and protection of investments” signed between the Governments of Liberia and France in Paris on 23 March 1979 and the “Tax Information Exchange Agreement” signed by both governments on 6 January 2011.

I come to this preferment acutely aware that global political developments and the act of diplomacy are malleable clays that are shaped and impacted by skillful and tactful diplomatic actors with the necessary acumen and understanding of global politics and power dynamics. As someone with the United Nations experience and awareness of geopolitics in which France plays a key role in global affairs, especially within the European Union (EU), North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and the United Nations (UN), I am cognizant of the importance of improved relations with France that was the second European nation after the United Kingdom (UK) to have officially recognized our sovereignty in 1852. Additionally, I come aware that France along with the United States, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom (UK) is part of an informal bloc of industrialized democracies called the Group of Seven (G7) that meets, discusses and decides on issues of global economic governance, international security, and, most recently, artificial intelligence (AI). Mine will be a responsibility to network with my colleagues assigned to those countries to ensure that Liberia’s interest finds its way to the table of discussions and decision-making as these countries most importantly provide development assistance to developing countries and also meaningfully contribute to the securitization of the world. 

V. Representation at the UNESCO

Honorable Chairman and members of this Honorable Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, if confirmed, I will have jurisdiction over the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). I intend to trumpet and parrot the need for more investments in teachers training, gender equality, youth development and empowerment, and tourism, among others, while focusing on representing and safeguarding Liberia’s interests in multilateral fora at UNESCO. I commit to impactfully participating in negotiations, advocating for national priorities, fostering mutually beneficial diplomatic relationships, and contributing to the advancement of global peace, security, development, and human rights. Under my leadership and with Liberia on the Executive Board as the fifty-eighth (58th) member, I intend to ensure that the Permanent Delegation of Liberia to UNESCO remains a consequential member of the organization and multilaterally engages to ensure that our country continues to accrue the necessary dividends through the Ministry of Education; the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, the Ministry of Information Cultural Affairs and Tourism; and the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

VI. Management of People and Resources

Honorable chairman and distinguished members of this committee, if confirmed by the Honorable Liberian Senate and subsequently appointed and commissioned by His Excellency President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr., I would officially become the chief manager of my colleagues and resources at the Paris Mission. During the discharge of my duties, I intend to proceed very delicately and strictly in full compliance with relevant laws, regulations, and procedures, and inspire my team to continually espouse and endlessly exude excellence and integrity through teamwork that ignites contagious enthusiasm enveloped in undiminished collegiality that engenders an endless hunger for the delivery of results. Through exhibiting consistency between my values and actions while manifesting borderless loyalty to our Republic and beautifully projecting and jealously protecting its image and interest through my actions and inactions, I commit to direct and manage my team through the powerfulness of my examples but not necessarily the examples of my powerfulness.

VII. Conclusion

Honorable chairman and members of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, without sidestepping creativity which is very important, my assignment as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, if I get your blessing to be confirmed, will not give me any authority and latitude to formulate personal plans of action. Rather, it is an assignment in which my primary duty will be implementing policies and decisions from home. As such, my role will be to ensure that I take instructions and execute orders in the state’s best interest. It is going to be my duty to offer suggestions that will enable us to generate the best results for our national interest. I can assure you that I will bring my knowledge, expertise, and experience to propagate the best values of our Republic to win the needed support of our partners and friends to help build, develop and modernize our beloved Liberia.

I am aware of the responsibilities that come with this role, including being a voice for Liberia’s interests abroad, enhancing our bilateral relations, and encouraging investments that can accelerate our nation’s economic growth. I commit to carry out these duties with integrity, transparency, and dedication and be a results-based ambassador, if confirmed. My education, skills, and practical professional experiences nationally and internationally make me the best suited for this role. Hence, I humbly look forward to securing the Senate’s blessing to allow me to serve as Liberia’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to France.

Thank you and I look forward to a fruitful interaction.