Belgium has granted 4 billion CFA F (US$7.5 million) inst itutional support to Niger under three agreements signed between the two countri e s, PANA learnt on Thursday from official sources in Niamey.
The grant is for the Ministry of Public Health, Ministry of Agriculture and Live stock, and Ministry of Population, Women’s Promotion and Child Protection.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation, African Integration and Niger Nati onals Living Abroad, Mrs. Toure Aminata Djibrilla Maiga, stated that the signing
of the agreements is testimony to the quality of bilateral cooperation between the two countries and Belgium’s strong commitment to support Niger to achieve development objectives set in the nationa l poverty alleviation strategy.
“The specific agreements which we have just signed belong to the last series of agreements falling within the Indicative Cooperation Programme (PIC). They conce r n institutional support to high-priority sectors like health, promotion of women
and livestock,” she declared.
The head of Belgium’s Cooperation Bureau in Niger, Mr Daniel Ceuninck, said the signing of the agreements fell within the bilateral PIC between the two states f o r 2009-2012.
“Such programmes of assistance are concretely meant to improve the capacities fo r programming, monitoring, assessing, developing thematic policies and strategie s as well as to ameliorate the coordination of actions between stakeholders of th e sectors of health, rural development and gender development,” Mr Ceuninck said.
The 2009-2012 PIC covers Belgium’s major areas of operation in Niger which are l ivestock development, district health workers training and income improvement pr o grammes for women in the Dosso Region.
