The Eleventh Ordinary Session of the Council of Ministers of the Central Africa Forests Commission (COMIFAC)

• Date de Publication : 2023-03-17

Presided over by His Excellency Lieutenant General of Police Gervais NDIRAKOBUCA, Prime Minister of the Republic of Burundi, the eleventh ordinary session of the Council of Ministers of the Central Africa Forests Commission (COMIFAC) was held on March 17, 2023 in Bujumbura, Republic of Burundi, under the high patronage of His Excellency Major Evariste NDAYISHIMIYE, President of the Republic, Head of State of Burundi.

In his speech and report, Mr. Jules Doret NDONGO, Minister of Forestry and Wildlife and outgoing Chairperson expressed his gratitude to the Burundian authorities for their legendary hospitality. He highlighted the major achievements of his chairmanship during his term of office, as regards negotiations, international dialogues in the forest-environment sector, mobilisation of funds for the implementation of the Convergence Plan and capacity building of sub-regional institutions.

Mr. Jules Doret NDONGO also thanked his counterparts and the technical and financial partners, the Federal Republic of Germany in particular, for their multifaceted support to the countries of the Congo Basin. He highlighted the priority projects to be pursued by the incoming COMIFAC chair, including the finalisation of the process of revising the fundamental laws of COMIFAC, the organisation of the 3rd Summit of Heads of State and Government and making the Member States aware of the need to comply with their obligations towards the Commission.

In his opening speech, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Burundi commended COMIFAC’s achievements as regards the implementation of the Convergence Plan and reiterated his country's willingness to fulfill its commitments to this institution.

The Prime Minister's speech was preceded by the handing over of the COMIFAC Chairmanship from Mr. Jules Doret NDONGO, Minister of Forestry and Wildlife, to his colleague, Prof. Sanctus NIRAGIRA, Burundi's Minister of the Environment, Agriculture and Livestock.

After recalling the objectives of this session, he mentioned some of his country's achievements in the area of sustainable forest management and the fight against climate change. Finally, he outlined the main thrust of Burundi's mandate as the incumbent Chairperson of COMIFAC, including support for the effective inclusion of all COMIFAC countries in the Central Africa Forest Initiative (CAFI).