US States Department Extols Bicentennial -Says Liberia Is Important Partner

MNOROVIA : The celebration of Liberia’s 200 years of founding as a state, called the Bicentennial Celebration, is more than acknowledging the national heritage; it is also meant to attract foreign direct investment to the country as well as the attention of the country which engineered the process of setting up a state on these West African shores—the United States of America. It seems this aspect of the objective is bearing fruit as the United States Department of State has begun to identify with the initiative. During the kickoff of the yearlong celebration held on the Providence Island on Friday, January 7, the Ambassador of the United States was on hand to participate, delivering a touching statement. While the program was ongoing, the States Department was delivering a statement to coincide with the kickoff ceremonies in Washington, acknowledging the significance of the initiative. The Analyst reports.

The United States Department of State says Liberia is one of Africa’s stable democracies and a key ally to the government and people of the United States of America.

In a statement on the Bicentennial Celebration read by Dr. Edward Ned Price in Washington, D.C. on January 7, 2022 to coincide the kickoff ceremonies of the Bicentennial, the States Department states: “Africa’s oldest republic, Liberia, is a stable democracy in West Africa and an important partner of the United States.

“In commemorating the bicentennial of the arrival of American settlers,” the statement delivered by Mr. Price who is Spokesperson of the United States Department of State asserts, “we also recognize the ethnic and cultural diversity of Liberia’s indigenous population, one that long predates the arrival of American immigrants, and celebrate the contributions of all Liberians in making the country what it is today.”

Edward Ned Price is an American political advisor and former intelligence officer serving as spokesman for the United States Department of State since 2021.

He also worked at the Central Intelligence Agency from 2006 until 2017.

In the statement, Mr. Price noted further: “Two hundred years ago today, a group of free Black men, women, and children from the United States established a settlement on Providence Island in what would become the city of Monrovia and, in 1847, the Republic of Liberia.”

He announced that “the United States joins the Republic of Liberia in commemorating this bicentennial.”

“As two of the oldest continuous republics in the world, the United States and Liberia share a unique history paired with common democratic values,” the State Department spokesman stressed. “We recognize our common roots and the historical significance of the arrival of these free Black Americans in 1822.”

He added: “Over the course of the 19th century, roughly 16,000 Black Americans immigrated from the United States to Liberia with the support of the American Colonization Society, joining thousands of resettled Africans rescued and freed from the slave trade by the U.S. Navy.

“We acknowledge the racist nature of the American Colonization Society and that slavery continued in parts of America for more than 40 years after the arrival of the first Black Americans to Liberia. Racism and oppression motivated many freed Black Americans to look for freedom and equality overseas. That struggle for equality continues to this day.”

The States Department statement acknowledged that “Africa’s oldest republic, Liberia is a stable democracy in West Africa and an important partner of the United States,” adding: “In commemorating the bicentennial of the arrival of American settlers, we also recognize the ethnic and cultural diversity of Liberia’s indigenous population, one that long predates the arrival of American immigrants, and celebrate the contributions of all Liberians in making the country what it is today.”

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