Liberia: Liberia, France Eye Security Pact On Drug Trafficking

What the report says

AllAfrica, carrying a report from The New Dawn, says Liberia and France have moved toward a formal security cooperation arrangement aimed at countering illicit drug trafficking and transnational organized crime. The development followed a high-level meeting in Paris between Liberia’s embassy and France’s anti-narcotics agency, the Office Anti-Stupéfiants, known as OFAST.

According to the report, Liberia’s Ambassador to France, Dr. Teeko Tozay Yorlay Sr., led the Liberian side, joined by Deputy Chief of Mission Emmanuel Saye Larmeh and Minister-Counselor for Press and Public Affairs Senve Darlington Tehmeh. OFAST was represented by Chief Dimitri Zoulas and Director of International Cooperation Perrine Boudin. The discussions covered possible cooperation in intelligence sharing, technical support, capacity building, information exchange and joint law enforcement activities.

The New Dawn reported that Yorlay proposed negotiating a Memorandum of Understanding between the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency and OFAST to give the cooperation a formal structure. French officials welcomed the proposal. The two sides also discussed a visit to France by senior Liberian officials from the LDEA, Liberia National Police and Ministry of Justice to move negotiations forward and identify practical priorities.

The report says both parties agreed in principle that, if the MoU is signed in Paris later this year, a follow-up meeting would be held in Liberia to launch the partnership and adopt an implementation plan. The prospective pact matters because Liberia and its partners are seeking stronger tools against cross-border narcotics networks, while the two countries are also drawing on diplomatic ties dating back to France’s recognition of Liberia’s independence in 1852.