BUJUMBURA February 22nd (ABP) – The President of the Republic of Burundi, Mr. Evariste Ndayishimiye, returned on Sunday February 20, 2022 from a working mission to the Kingdom of Belgium where he participated in the 6th European Union (EU)-African Union (AU) Summit which took place from February 17 to 18th, 2022 in Brussels, a check on the site by ABP has revealed.
During an interview given to the news reporters, President Ndayishimiye indicated that this working mission was crowned with success and was structured in two stages, namely participation in the 6th EU-AU Summit beforehand, and the strengthening of ties of friendship between the countries, without forgetting the sharing of their experiences in several fields.
He reported having participated in two main round-tables and had the opportunity to give his intervention.
As for the first round-table, the Heads of State of EU member countries and those of the AU discussed peace and security as well as good governance. They deplored that there are still terrorist groups, particularly in the Sahel region, in central and southern Africa. But they appreciated people’s solidarity in the fight against international terrorism and violent extremism, he said.
During the second round-table, which focused on agriculture and sustainable development, the President of the Republic said that he shared with his counterparts Burundi’s progress in the agricultural sector and in the fight against hunger and malnutrition. He was delighted to have chosen that theme because, he explained, it is an interesting subject within the AU for this year and that in Burundi, the year 2022 is already dedicated to the agriculture.
The Head of State pointed out that the 6th EU-AU Summit was an opportunity for him to meet other Heads of State and Government to discuss the situation of cooperation relations between their countries at the bilateral level. He specified that he had a very rich and fruitful talk with the President of the European Council where they agreed to strengthen the dialogue so that there is no longer any divergence in their relations, hence they even exchanged their phone numbers for regular communication whenever needed.
He also reported having met the commissioner in charge of the Europe-Africa partnership who revealed to him that the EU is determined to support Burundi in that development process. Thus, the EU has planned a package of 214 million dollars, of which 20 million dollars are intended for the protection of biodiversity in the Rusizi plain, while the rest will be used in the fields of energy, education, health, agriculture and livestock, he said.
He also indicated that the Summit was an opportunity to thank the sub-region for its solidarity, and more particularly the President of Kenya, Mr. Uhuru Kenyatta for his personal involvement in the lifting of sanctions against Burundi, the President of the United Republic of Tanzania as well as the EU representative in Burundi, Ambassador Claude Bochu.
The President of the Republic of Burundi said that after that working mission, he met Burundians living in the Kingdom of Belgium and its surroundings to share with them the situation prevailing in their native country. He was delighted with the active and positive participation, all components of society combined, which led him to confirm that Burundians have finally changed their minds.
On the other hand, President Ndayishimiye castigated the behavior of some Burundians who demonstrated against the lifting of economic sanctions that the EU had taken in 2016 against Burundi, especially since the mobilizer of about twenty demonstrators who went to tarnish the image of Burundi in front of the international community, is a member of the CNL party.
“Imagine an approved party which works officially, which joins a terrorist group and which mobilizes Burundians to demonstrate against their country”, he deplored before calling on the leaders of political parties to favor the path of dialogue, to organize their demonstrations in Burundi and to mobilize their members to patriotic love.