Liberia: Experts Identify 'Loopholes' in Liberian Foreign Policy

By Joaquin M. Sendolo

Dr. Konneh lectures students on Liberian Foreign Policy.

Two Liberian foreign policy experts in History and Political Science have highlighted low impact, selfish interest and lack of education as factors affecting Liberia, in spite of its good and attractive foreign policy.

Dr. George Klay Kieh, professor of West Georgia University in Atlanta, Georgia, the United States, and Dr. Augustine Konneh, former Director of the Liberia Foreign Service Institute, currently serving as Dean of the African Methodist Episcopal University (AMEU), made these observations on June 29 at AMEU's second lecture session hosted in the conference room.

The two had their secondary and university education in Liberia before leaving for the United States to earn their graduate and doctorate degrees in their respective disciplines.

Dr. Konneh laid the premise that foreign policy is an extension of domestic policy. He said Liberia's foreign policy seeks to establish good neighborly relations and investments without interfering into the domestic policies of other countries.

He said that Liberia's foreign policy had been attractive in some administrations, including those of Presidents William V.S. Tubman, William R. Tolbert, Samuel K. Doe and immediate former President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, "but its impact on the ordinary people has remained a nightmare."