— On progress under legal timber trade agreementThe Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) between the Government of Liberia (GoL) and the European Union (EU) will hold its 5th Joint Implementation Committee (JIC) meeting in Monrovia from April 5 to 7, 2017, at the Monrovia City Hall, the European Union Delegation to Liberia has announced. The VPA, a bilateral Agreement between the GoL and the EU was negotiated from 2009 -2011 and ratified by Liberia in 2013. “Since the ratification of the VPA, Liberia has made significant marks in managing its forest resources. The JIC, which comprises the Liberia Implementation Committee (LIC) and the EU representatives, seeks to provide oversight of the implementation of the Agreement. Hence, the LIC on the VPA comprises representatives from Ministries, Agencies and Commission (MACs) of GoL, the private sector, as well as civil society.

Source: Daily Observer April 05, 2017 01:30 UTC