Remarks
of His Excellence Joseph Diatta, Ambassador of the Republic of Niger
to the United States on the occasion of Celebration of Niger 2001
On behalf of my spouse Haoua and the personnel of the Embassy of Niger in Washington DC, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Mr. Jim Schneider and the Board of Directors of friends of Niger for their kind invitation to attend this friendly dinner.
You have decided this year to mark the 15th anniversary of Friends of Niger and Niger's Independence Day by organizing a three days reunion of your members in Washington DC, a reunion named: A Celebration of Niger.
Through this choice, you have decided to honor Niger and its people. It seems to us that you also have decided to focus your meeting on the ways and means able to lead to a brighter future for the Nigerien population.
As citizens of Niger living in the United States, we are really proud to be part of this Celebration.
Despite its great deal of potential and many mining resources, the country you are honoring today is still remaining one of the poorest in the world, with a GNP of less that 230 US dollars per year, with low social indicators, and with 63% of the population living in poverty.
It is time to change this situation and to move toward a brighter future.
The well being of the Nigerien population is dependent on several factors, such as: political stability, good governance, Nigeria's economy, and donor financing.
After more than a decade marked by social and political crises, deteriorating economic and financial problems, a new government and a new parliament took office in December 1999, following democratic elections held in a transparent manner. Snce then Niger is a stable country, with a government strongly committed to democracy, good government and human rights.
As a result of these democratic elections, Niger has resumed its full relations of cooperation with all traditional partners, including the United States.
On the economic front, the new authorities have also expressed their strong committment to economic reform, in order to address the economic and financial crisis. The reform program, strongly supported by the World Bank and the IMF, is aimed at stimulating economic growth and reducing poverty through - macroeconomics and fiscal stabilization, privatization of state enterprises, improvement in the delivery of social service, and promotion of trade and of the private sector.
The successful implementation of the reform program has allowed Niger to become this year eligible for the HIPC Initiative (High Indebted Poor Countries Initiative).
As you can see, thanks to its commitment to democracy and thanks to the implementation of a courageous reform program, Niger has succeeded to reinforce its credibility at the international level.
I would like now to make a few comments about Niger/US relations. Since the resumption of the US bilateral assistance in February 2000, Niger has been granted a five year security and rural development program amounting to 25 million US dollars.
But no decision has been taken yet for reopening of the USAID office in Niamey, office closed in 1998. That's the reason why the US economic assistance to Niger is currently channeled through Africare, CARE and Catholic Relief Services, which are non-profit US organizations working for a long time in Niger in humanitarian and economic fields.
Our population really appreciate the tremendous job accomplished by these institutions and their leaders. Allow me to seize this opportunity to present our gratitude and our sincere thanks to Africare, CARE, Catholic Relief Services and other American NGOs, for their generous assistance to our population.
However, taling in consideration the great determination and courage demonstrated by the Nigerien people in returning the country to democracy - taking also in consideration that fact that Niger's needs for its development are huge, the sincere wish of our government is to see again an USAID presence in Niger, in addition to an increase of the US economic assistance level.
To achieve these important goals, we need the strong support of all of the friends of Niger. This battle has to be won at the Administration and at the Congressional levels. If we remain all mobilized, we can win this battle.
Before I conclude, I would like to wish a happy 15th Anniversary to Friends of Niger and a very successful reunion.
Thank you for your kind attention.
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