BUJUMBURA February 1st (ABP) – “Our new diplomatic strategy for Burundi’s policy is based on 4 pillars, namely: attracting foreign investors, trade, technology transfer and infrastructure development through the mutually beneficial partnerships”. This was announced by the President of the Republic of Burundi Evariste Ndayishimiye. It was on Friday, January 28, 2022, during his speech for the occasion, on the occasion of the exchange of courtesies with the diplomatic and consular corps accredited in Burundi, as well as the representatives of international organizations. Evariste Ndayishimiye revealed that currently, Burundi’s investment code is the most attractive in the region, inviting potential partners to come and invest in Burundi.
View of guests at the exchange of courtesies ceremonies
At the agricultural level, the President of the Republic stressed that internal production is sufficient for the population. Nevertheless, he noted that the challenges are related to the conservation and processing of agricultural products. He associated the environment with agriculture, many efforts of which are made in reforestation, among other things, for the protection of the soil against erosion. For him, Burundi “needs support from the climate fund to make the whole country covered”. Calling on development partners to support Burundi “to increase agricultural production, combat climate change and definitively combat hunger”. The President of the Republic, in his speech, said that Burundi has an enormous tourist and cultural heritage. The government plans to focus its efforts on tourism development to boost the country’s economy. He stressed that good governance in public administration, justice, human rights, the fight against impunity, corruption and embezzlement of public funds; remain the concerns of the government. The latter, “will spare no effort to eradicate these scourges”, he said.
In the field of international relations, alongside the pursuit of steps for good relations with its partners, the President of the Republic said that the country is registering “new friends with whom Burundi has signed various agreements. He welcomed “US President Joe Biden’s recent decision to lift the state of emergency regarding the situation in Burundi and the lifting of sanctions against certain Burundian personalities”.
On the chapter of regional integration, President Ndayishimiye indicated that Burundi remains committed by actively participating in various regional and sub-regional organizations to which it has joined; “as long as they constitute a guarantee of peace and collective security and a lever for development”
For the President of the Republic, the world has a common destiny which is threatened by 2 challenges that all countries must fight together. The first challenge is security, the fight against terrorism. In this regard, he reiterated Burundi’s commitment to continue through the various peacekeeping missions in the world. In this same security domain, he condemned “with the utmost energy the coups d’Etat which are perpetuated in Africa against democratically elected institutions”. He also condemned “the taking of irrational sanctions against a people of a country”. For him, it is rather “helping them instead of pushing them into the abyss. It would be a collective sanction that the international community has always prohibited”
The 2nd challenge he mentioned is the fight against covid-19, which, according to him, “has shown the limits of individual actions”. He was delighted with the inauguration on January 19 in Cape Town, South Africa, of the first manufacturing unit for the African continent’s anti-covid vaccine. “We must continue to combine our efforts to hope to annihilate this pandemic; any step must be taken in the spirit of international solidarity,” he advised.