President Weah and entourage arrived in the UAE capital city of Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, to a colorful and exciting reception from authorities of the country, including Crown Prince Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
The host officials in their first interaction with President Weah and delegation promised to help him transform Africa’s oldest independent country.
President Weah’s meeting with the Crown Prince followed a reception meeting with the UAE’s Minister of State, Director General and Chief Executive Officer of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Prominent Advocate of Alternative Energy, Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber.
The President and delegation, in the meeting with the Crown Prince and other UAE officials, discussed issues of bilateral and direct investment to Liberia.
The Liberian Leader used the moment to brief his UAE hosts about his vision to transform his country.
“I have traveled to Paris, Monaco, Rome, London and Abu Dhabi and remain amazed by how the cities look,” the President said during the meeting attended by a horde of investors and business executives.
President Weah named road connectivity, including a coastal highway, agriculture, the revamping of the Liberia Electricity Corporation, renewable energy, health and education as top priorities of his administration’s first term.
According to a dispatch, the UAE leaders, at the end of the meeting with President Weah, immediately set up a technical working group comprising civil engineers, agriculture experts and other technocrats mandated to travel to Liberia for assessment and to conclude final arrangements for immediate direct investment.
The team is expected to travel to Monrovia as early as April 2019.
“I will work with you to achieve whatever you want to be your legacy as development in your country,” the Crown Prince told President Weah.
UAE officials said they consider President Weah’s visit as a homecoming to Abu Dhabi where he played football for three years.