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NEWSLETTER 38. MARCH 2008

NATIONALES NEWS

·                    Gold Trade: Establishing a regulatory structure. The anti-fraud squad for gold was set up on January 15, 2008 in Ouagadougou. Its mission is research, identification and prosecution of violations of the regulations of gold trading traditionally extracted from Burkina Faso gold mining sites. It is composed of 11 members and includes lawyers, police officers, customs officers and gendarmes.
·                    Farmer’s National day: Agricultural producers talk with the Head of State. For the 12th time, President Blaise Compaore participated in the traditional Farmer’s National Day, a time of communion and sharing with the farmer population. It was in Samandéni, in western Burkina Faso, on January 25, 2008, that the day began with the launch of the integrated program of the Samandéni valley under the theme "Enhancing agrosilvopastoral production". The discussions were focused on input subsidies, land tenure security, marketing, , agricultural equipment quality, processing and storage of agricultural products.The agricultural producers’ delegates have made a number of commitments to ensure food security, a better performance of livestock and an improvement of environmental safeguards. In his statement, President Blaise Compaore paid tribute to the producer as major players in food safety, discussing agricultural production intensification in our country, it is first and foremost control, mobilization and sustain management  water", said President Blaise Compaore discussing . But it is also having "the ability to transform and retain our best agricultural products for greater value added." He urged rural stakeholders to continue to learn and to become literate in order "to be leaders in the practice of agricultural production”. He also put a great emphasis on the land; the need to respect, preserve and conserve it. "We must nurture this land to which we remain committed and love it." It was in this context that, on the same day, the Head of State kicked off the dam in Samandéni, about sixty kilometers from Bobo-Dioulasso. With an investment close to 200 billion CFA francs, the Samandéni dam will be the most ambitious project ever in Burkina with a 1.05 billion (1,050,000,000) m3, a water be spread over 153 km2 for an annual electricity production of 16 Giga Watt through the construction of a hydroelectric power station.
Developments put in place will intensify and increase agricultural production thus providing more than 750000 tons of additional agricultural production, 1200 tons of fish from traditional method of capture per year, 3000 tons in aquaculture per year and 1800 tons of meat per year.
·                    Mangoes processing factory .The inauguration of a mangoes processing factory took place during the Farmer’s National Day. It was implemented in the rural community of Kourion, west of the country by private burkinabè citizens and with the support of the State. Its cost is estimated at around 3.575 billion CFA francs.
The staff is made up of 60 permanent staff and 165 seasonal workers. The processing plant offers five products: the mango pulp aimed for the European and Arabic countries, mango and orange juice, mango and orange cocktail, mangoes/pineapple/passion fruit cocktail for UEMOA countries and Ghana. It is also an ecological industrial unit, with its own wastewater sewage plant.

SUB-REGIONAL NEWS
The 33rd Summit of ECOWAS: The Burkinabe Presidency renewed for a second term. On January 18, 2008, Ouagadougou hosted the 33rd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). From the meeting, we will retain that the primary responsibility of the fifteen member states is the fight against poverty in the sub-region. They expressed this by adopting a strategic plan for poverty reduction. They also approved the establishment of a support fund for the development of statistics. ECOWAS leaders reiterated their commitment to continue to negotiate with the European Union on the issue of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), and instructed the ECOWAS Commission to convene a meeting of member states to develop an appropriate framework. The migration issue has also been a central for the leaders of the Community. In this regard, they adopted a common approach on migration in the form of a regional mechanism to address the challenges of mobility between the countries as well as immigration to foreign countries. While calling for the management of water resources, the Heads of State and Government endorsed an emergency plan for the security of energy supply and suggested that alternative sources of energy should be further explored to enable the region to cope with shortages.
·                    African Union: Burkina Faso reelected as member of the Peace and Security Council.Gathered in Addis Ababa for its second ordinary session on January 29, 2008, the African Union Executive Council re-elected, with acclamation, Burkina Faso as a member of the Peace and Security Council (PSC) for a new two-year term starting on 1 April 2008. The African Union Peace and Security Council, just like the Executive Council, the African Union Commission, the Pan African Parliament, the Economic, Social and Cultural Council, the Court of Justice, is part of the African Union. Composed of fifteen members, its mission is the maintenance of peace and stability on the continent, early warning and preventive diplomacy, peacemaking, mediation, conciliation, investigation, peace-building, post-conflict reconstruction, humanitarian actions and disaster management. Engaged for the last few years in resolving conflicts in the West African sub-region and in the continent, Burkina Faso, has just been re-elected to the PSC,
over criteria including: contribution to the promotion and maintenance of peace and security in Africa, involvement in efforts to resolve conflicts, restoration and consolidation of peace at regional and continental levels, respect of constitutional governance and promotion of the rule of law and human rights.
·                    World Bank loans nearly 2 million CFA francs for Biosafety.

·                      A funding agreement in the amount of 1,950 billion CFA francs for the realization of a regional Biosafety project was signed on February 4, 2008. This funding provided b
y the World Bank is a credit for Biosafety, aiming at developing and implementing a community legal framework for Biosafety which will enable West African member states of the Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) area meeting their obligations on biosafety, as well as establishing the required social and environmental safeguards.
·                    Burkina Faso at the head of RESAO. Those responsible for the management of national election for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) area met in Conakry (Guinea) from February 5-7, 2008 and have created the ECOWAS Network Management Structures for Elections(RESAO). In accordance with the Additional Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance adopted by ECOWAS Heads of State in Dakar in 2001, the creation of RESAO according to the new President is explained by the fact that during each election, ECOWAS dispatched observers in the concerned States. Unfortunately, he said, so far, observers traveling to different countries have provided unprofessional reports. To fill this gap ECOWAS has asked the structures responsible for the organization of elections in different countries, to set up a common structure that will allow the observers to now speak the same language. At the end of the meeting Burkina Faso was elected as the head the RESAO. The new body will now enhance the   capacity of every single local structure in charge of the organization of elections in the relevant area. According to the Chairman of RESAO this will be done through the exchange of experience and electoral materials resulting in cost effective elections, he stated. Burkina Faso has already experienced such exchange of electoral materials with Ghana and Benin.
·                    1st Meeting of Ombudsmen the UEMOA. Born of the joint initiative of Burkina Faso and Mali ombudsmen, the event was held from February 11-12, 2008 in Ouagadougou with the central theme of "role of mediators in the improvement of public services: <<experience of mediating institutions of the UEMOA countries>> and focused on current concerns on the rule of law in the community. Upon completion of the work, the ombudsmen have expressed their desire to perpetuate their meeting and to create a framework for coordination of their institutions in order to fully play their role as an interface between citizens and public administrations. They mainly agreed to formalize this cooperation through the harmonization of their tools and work methods, sharing of joint training for their human resources and its application if any, and community standards as a basis for conflict resolution between citizens and their administrations.
·                    COOPERATION Appointed on December 5, 2007, the new Ambassador of Burkina Faso in Washington, His Excellency Paramanga Ernest Yonli presented his credentials on January 22, 2008 to President George Bush, as Ambassador of Burkina Faso to the United States of America. Earlier, Ambassador Yonli handed copies of his credentials during an audience granted to him by the Joint Secretary of State, Mr. John Negreponte Dimitri on January 14, 2008. It revealed to be an opportunity to review of bilateral relations and to consider ways and means of strengthening them through the USAID and the MCC among others. As for the sub-regional and international situation, both parties welcomed the developments in the implementation of the Ouagadougou agreements for the return to peace, security and stability in Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso's contribution to the peace keeping in Darfur. While acknowledging the personal role of President Blaise Compaore in the sub-region, the American diplomat welcomed the election of Burkina Faso to the Security Council and the prospect of a permanent and constructive dialogue between the two countries within this important organ of the United Nations. After the welcoming reception on January 24, 2008, at which representatives of the Diplomatic Corps and the Department of State participated, His Excellency Yonli initiated courtesy and work related visits.
·                    Visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Cooperation in Washington : bilateral and global issues discussed. Within the framework of cooperation between Burkina Faso and the United States, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Cooperation, Djibrill Yipènè Bassolé, conducted a mission of consultations with American officials , in Washington , from February 27-29, 2008. On this occasion, he held several meetings, including one with the Secretary of State, Mr. John Dimitri Negroponte, the Assistant Secretary of State in charge of African Affairs, Mrs. Jendayi Frazer and the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, in charge of African Affairs, Mrs. Theresa Welhan. In the specific context of the ongoing consultation with regard to the implementation of their respective mandates at the Security Council, the two sides reviewed the major issues at stake.
·                    Expansion and upgrading of the international airport in Ouagadougou: The work on the extension and refurbishment the Ouagadougou International Airport was kicked off on January 31, 2008. Its completion will increase the number of registration counters from five to eleven, double the operational and commercial surfaces and allow the opening of two prestigious VIP lounges and a “pilgrim terminal" for the Hadj
flights and motor parking. A large boarding area will also be built with direct access to duty free shops, a restaurant with a panoramic view, an increase of police stations as well as a modern information and assistance equipment to passengers. A sum of 2.4 billion CFA francs for a year and a half is projected and the work has been funded by Burkina Faso and the National Aviation Operations Delegation (DAAN) of the Agency for Air Navigation Safety in Africa and Madagascar (Asecna).
·                    Poverty alleviation:
The city of Ouahigouya hosted from February 7-8, 2008, the technical launching to promote agricultural sectors entitled “Support Project for agricultural sectors” (PROFIL), whose goal is the reduction of poverty in rural areas. With a total project of 8.72 billion CFA francs, co-financed by IFAD (FIDA) and the government of Burkina Faso, the project supports agricultural production for cowpea, sesame, onion, sheep, sheep and traditional poultry. Three regions will be affected, first in its implementation scheduled for a period of six years: the Central West, the North and the Northern Central region. PROFIL's goal is "to reduce rural poverty by facilitating equitable access by the poor in the rural area to agricultural sectors that benefit from growth markets".
·                    IMF / UEMOA: Bringing the International Monetary Fund closer to the Africans.The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Dominique Strauss Kahn had, on February 25, 2008, a working meeting with the UEMOA heads of state and government: Blaise Compaore of Burkina Faso, Faure Gnassingbe of Togo, Koudou Laurent Gbagbo of Côte d'Ivoire, Amadou Toumani Toure of Mali, Yayi Boni of Benin and the Prime Minister of Niger and Guinea as well as the ambassador of Senegal in Burkina Faso.
They argued that the IMF must be closer to Africa in order to enable it to face the challenges of globalization in a context of economic crisis. "We are hoping that the IMF will improve its governance by making its financial instruments much more accessible to Africans, particularly to fragile countries, especially those in crisis situations. We also expect a better representation of the continent within the Fund’s bodies of Trustees, "announced President Compaore at the end of the meeting. Mr. Strauss-Kahn spoke about the economic prospects of the region and the energy crisis associated with the rise in the price per barrel of oil and cotton. "The IMF is often presented as a firefighter who just extinguished the fire and who clears everything in its path," conceded DSK. He immediately added that "this partial and former view of the Fund" must give way to a new era. Indeed, the IMF intends to increase its technical assistance to African States and assist in the construction of new capacity in order to run the Central Bank. It also plans on helping to build tailored tax and customs systems while ensuring that debt does not skid, noted the managing director of IMF.
·                    World Bank/Burkina Faso : Meeting on Education.
·                    Under the accelerated implementation of Education for all programme, a delegation from the Ministries of Basic Education and Literacy, Secondary and Higher Education and Scientific Research, Economy and Finance stayed in Washington from February 11-14, 2008, for several working groups meetings with the World Bank on phase II of the PDDEB (The Ten-Year Plan for Development of Basic Education). The objectives according to   Ministers Odile Bonkoungou and Joseph Paré backed by their technical staff were to finalize a project request to donors involved in Burkina Faso’s educational system and to discuss financing prospects for the educational sector in the years to come. In addition to finalizing the document introduced by Burkina Faso, the program established by the World Bank has enabled the delegation to meet with the financial institution’s officials, the technical and financial partners in order to carry out field visits and conduct a video conferencing debate. The Ministers in charge of education expressed their optimism about Burkina Faso’s educational system prospects. The mission in Washington granted a forum for exchange with the technical team and the financial partners involved in Burkina Faso’s education system through a framework document. Thus, the delegation met with the Secretariat of Fast Track, (which is a global partnership between developing and donor countries with the objective of achieving the goal of basic education f
or all children by 2015), the World Bank’s Administrator for the Africa region and the officials of the sustainable human development department.

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Rencontre de L’Ambassadeur Paramanga Ernest Yonli avec les burkinabè des USA: Un pari réussi
Elle était pleine comme un œuf, la salle de rencontre qui s’est révélée très exigüe pour accueillir les Burkinabè des USA qui ont effectué le déplacement pour la circonstance. Le temps d’un échange amical mêlant aussi bien l’actualité, le passé et des anecdotes personnelles, souvent teinté d’émotion ou d’humour, la rencontre entre l'Ambassadeur Yonli et les compatriotes vivant au pays de l’Oncle SAM avait les allures de retrouvailles. Ils sont venus du Texas, de la Californie, de New-Jersey, de Pensylvanie, de New-York et bien entendu de Washington. Il convient de noter également la présence d’officiels burkinabè en mission à Washington, et des amis du couple Yonli venus de France et du Burkina Faso.
Pour planter le décor,il y a eu la projection d’un film intitulé : Burkina, terre de dialogue. D’une durée d’une heure quinze minutes, le film a fait ressortir qu’au Burkina Faso, terre de rencontre et de diversité, le dialogue demeure une condition sine qua non de la cohabitation pacifique entre une multitude de peuples venus d’horizons divers pour forger la Nation.
C’est à l’issue de cela que le Ministre Conseiller, Jacob W Pasgo, Président du Comité d’organisation de la rencontre, est intervenu pour une brève présentation de celui que le Président du Faso a nommé pour le représenter aux USA. Directeur de Cabinet, Ministre, Premier Ministre et Ambassadeur du Burkina aux Etats-Unis depuis le 5 décembre 2007, c’est cet homme dont on ne peut énumérer toute la brillante carrière que vous avez aujourd’hui en face de vous, a déclaré Monsieur Pasgo avant d’introduire l’Ambassadeur.
Paramanga Yonli a fait une communication sur la situation politique, sociale et économique du Burkina. Pour ce faire il a énuméré entre autres, la stabilité politique, la bonne gouvernance économique, l’élection du Burkina Faso comme membre non permanent du Conseil de Sécurité, la réalisation d’infrastructures, etc…
Pas de sujet tabou ! Les préoccupations, les attentes, les inquiétudes et les espoirs par rapport à la mère-patrie étaient de mise. Dans la série de questions réponses, les Burkinabè des USA ont axé leurs interventions sur les investissements dans les secteurs de l’agrobusiness, le soutien aux étudiants, les difficultés d’obtention de crédits auprés des banques burkinabè, le vote des Burkinabè de l’étranger, les parcelles à usage d’habitation et de commerce, la réhabilitation du grand marché Rood Woko, le code des investissements, bref, tous les sujets ont été évoqués de long en large avec le Représentant de Blaise Compaoré aux USA. Un étudiant venu du Texas affirme avec force à L’Ambassadeur: <<Nous voulons participer à l’édification du Faso mais nous n’avons aucun appui du gouvernement pendant nos études», d’autres sollicitent un soutien afin de leur permettre d’obtenir des facilités pour leur insertion dans la vie active, tandis qu’un autre, au sujet du vote de la diaspora,   lui demande ce qu’il a fait durant son passage au Premier Ministère pour résoudre la question>>.
Après avoir attentivement écouté les interventions, des réponses claires, et directes ont été données aux uns et aux autres. Par exemple en ce qui concerne le soutien aux étudiants Parmanga Ernest Yonli a répondu: <<l’Etat ne peut pas intervenir de façon désorganisée et avec des étudiants en rangs dispersés. Si le gouvernement sait qu’aux Etats-Unis il a un millier d’étudiants regroupés dans un cadre bien défini, il a l’obligation de vous venir en aide>> a-til dit.
<<Vous me demandez ce que j’ai fait pour le vote de la diaspora lorsque j’étais Premier Ministre: eh bien, je n’ai rien fait et je vous le dis en toute sincérité>>. Mais il parle directement comme ça s’est exclamé quelqu’un dans la salle.
Les yadcés qui étaient dans la salle ont reçu des piques de Son Excellence lorsqu’il s’est adressé à eux en ces termes: <<Envoyez-nous vos légumes de Ouahigouya, nous avons l’argent pour acheter et vous allez voir que chez nous on ne garde pas l’argent sous les matelas>>.
L’Ambassadeur a signifié aux compatriotes à « ne jamais perdre de vue la nécessité de leur implication dans le développement économique du Burkina Faso » Notre pays attend des investisseurs et le gouvernement est prêt à vous accompagner avec des projets que vous serez amenés à apporter dans le pays» a-t-il laissé entendre, tout en les assurant du devoir de l’Ambassade à les protéger et à les assister, selon les moyens. Il a invité les uns et les autres au civisme et aux regroupements associatifs, ce qui permettra leur suivi régulier par l’Ambassade.
L’utile a été joint à l’agréable par un cocktail et une soirée récréative animée par Gérard Koala.

H. BARRY

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Les femmes burkinabè de New York ont célébré le 8 mars.
C'est le 29 mars 2008   que l'Association des femmes burkinabè de New York a commémoré la Journée internationale de la Femme, et comme d'habitude le bal était au rendez-vous de la manifestation présidée par l'Ambassadrice Kadidiatou Yonli, épouse de l'Ambassadeur du Burkina à Washington, Son Excellence Paramanga Ernest Yonli, qui a conduit une délégation de femmes de l'Ambassade. A New York la délégation de la Mission Permanente du Burkina auprés de l'ONU était conduite par le Représentant Permanent Adjoint, Son Excellence l'Ambassadeur Paul Robert Tiendrébéogo, qu'entouraient l’Ambassadrice Marie Kafando, épouse du Représentant Permanent du Burkina auprès de l’ONU, le Ministre Conseiller Bonaventure Koudougou, ainsi que Monsieur Balboné.Dans son message qui a été livré, la Présidente de l’Association , Clarisse Zoungrana a noté que le 8 mars a été bien célébré au Burkina eu égard au thème qui est d’une importance majeure, à savoir : «femmes et VIH/SIDA : la féminisation de la pandémie, les stratégies de riposte». Elle a salué la mobilisation de ses soeurs qui a permis d’unir leur force pour la réussite de cet évènement. Pour l’occasion, et pour démontrer de l’esprit d’intégration et de fraternité entre les pays voisins du Burkina, les femmes du Mali et de la Côte d’Ivoire ont été invitées.
Très brièvement, Madame Kadidiatou qui a donné rendez-vous aux femmes de New York très prochainement dans un autre cadre, a rappelé que la célébration du 8 mars est une occasion de mener une réflexion sur la situation de la femme, comme en témoigne la conférence-débat organisée par les femmes burkinabè de Washington le 8 mars 2008 qui a permis au terme d’échanges fructueux, de paufiner un document synthèse. Elle a invité les femmes à se mobiliser pour cette grande rencontre.


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TAIWAN , THE UNITED NATIONS AND ITS SPECIAL AGENCIES
For over a decade, Taiwan has sought a proper role in the United Nations and its affiliate organizations. Until 2007, this effort took the form of regularly seeking observer status, a modest proposal given Taiwan ’s important regional significance. But this and other attempts to join international organizations have repeatedly been quashed by the People’s Republic of China .

Responding to the frustrations of Taiwan ’s 23 million people at their government’s stymied efforts to gain a role in the General Assembly, the World Health Organization, and elsewhere, President Chen Shui-bian submitted Taiwan ’s first-ever application for full membership to the United Nations on July 19^th, 2007.

Taiwan clearly has the right under the UN Charter to seek membership. As defined by the 1933 Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States, Taiwan possesses all the criteria for a sovereign state – a permanent population, a defined territory, a government, and a capacity to enter into relations with other states.

By seeking UN membership under the name Taiwan rather than the official Republic of China, the government avoided crossing the red line of asserting independence, which otherwise would have disrupted the status quo with mainland China.

Both Taiwan and the international community have a compelling interest in its full participation at the UN:

Taiwan is vibrant democracy, providing a beacon of freedom to others in its region still seeking political emancipation.

Taiwan ranks as the world’s eighteenth largest economy and its sixteenth largest trading nation, making it critical to international commerce.

Taiwan is a major contributor to the global development agenda, providing hundreds of millions in assistance worldwide and producing strategies and technologies to address transnational challenges such as SARS, the Avian Flu, and tsunamis.

Taiwan has observer status or associate membership in seventeen intergovernmental organizations, such as the World Trade Organization, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering, and the Egmont Group, which combats illegal money flows. Meanwhile, Taiwan ’s nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) participate in the activities of over 2,000 international NGO groups.

The existence and security of Taiwan ’s people would be better protected as a member of the UN, whose mandate includes maintaining global peace and security. Of particular note, a UN role for Taiwan would help counter the hegemonic policies employed by the People’s Republic of China , which have increasingly eroded the status quo across the Taiwan Strait .

On September 21^st, 2007, the UN General Assembly agreed by consensus to exclude Taiwan 's membership application from the agenda of its 62nd session. Notwithstanding this setback, the people of Taiwan are expected to vote on whether to continue pursuing full UN membership in a 2008 referendum.

Legislative elections 2007: Over 3,5 millions Burkina Faso citizens went to the polls on May 6th, 2007 for the 4th consecutive legislative elections since the passing of the Constitution in 1991.

The ruling party, the Congress for Democracy and Progress (CDP) won the majority of votes and got 73 Members of Parliament out of 111, according to results announced by the Constitutional Court. The other 38 seats are split among the opposition parties and the parties parraining to the presidential sphere of influence.

New Cabinet: As a consequence of legislative elections the May 6th polls brought about the designation of a new administration. A June 4th, 2007 presidential decree appointed Mr. Tertius Zongo Prime Minister of Burkina Faso. Prior to that, Mr. Tertius Zongo was Ambassador of Burkina Faso in Washington. On June 10th, 2007, the new Prime Minister formed his cabinet of 34 ministers including 5 women. The CDP (Congress for Democracy and Progress), ruling party and the ADF / RDA (the opposition) are the two political groups represented in the new Cabinet marked by 14 departures and 17 arrivals. The portfolios with a strong diplomatic connotation are entrusted to:

-Colonel Djibril Yipènè Bassolé, Foreign affairs and Regional Cooperation, (change of portfolio)

-Mr. Jean Baptiste Marie Pascal Compaoré, Minister of Economy and Finance (unchanged)

-Mr. Laurent Sedego, Minister of the Environment and of Quality of life (unchanged)

Establishing the crux of his action, the new Prime minister announced the following orientations:

- The pursuit and strengthening of the sustainability and the quality of economic growth and further, the operationalization of visible and appropriate answers to the Burkinabè's social needs;

- The job creation especially for young people, which generates revenue for all, based on greater attention to the betterment of the business climate to give the private sector its fair place in the process of creating national wealth. The fulfillment of economic and social achievements to significantly reduce the impact of poverty; A more shared and equitable growth in order to provide the most destitute with basic social services cost effective;

Inter-Togolese Meeting: The 6th session of the Monitoring Committee of the Inter-Togolese Global Political Agreement met on May 14th, 2007 in Ouagadougou under the aegis of the Facilitator, President Blaise Compaoré.

The main decision arising from the meeting is the postponement of the legislative elections initially planned for June 24th, 2007 to August 5th, 2007. The postponement came as a result of delays as well as of logistical, technical, financial and human difficulties admitted by the Facilitator.

The Côte d’Ivoire Crisis: President Blaise Compaoré on a visit to Côte d’Ivoire.

The Burkinabè Head of State Blaise Compaoré, facilitator in the crisis in Côte d’Ivoire, chaired the first meeting of the members of the Permanent Body for Consultation (CPC) on June 12th, 2007 in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire. It is the first visit of President Compaoré to this country since the beginning of the crisis in Côte d’Ivoire in September 2002.

The (CPC) is responsible for monitoring the implementation of the inter-Ivorian peace agreement signed on March 4th, 2007 in Ouagadougou by the president Laurent Gbagbo and the leader of the ex-rebellion Guillaume Soro, who has since become Prime Minister. In addition to President Gbagbo, Soro and Compaoré, the CPC is made up of the unarmed Ivorian opposition representatives: Henry Konan Bédié, the former Head of State, and Alassane Ouattara, former Prime Minister. At the wrap up of meeting, President Blaise Compaoré declared that the general election in Côte d’Ivoire, which had been postponed since the end of 2005, could take place in the first quarter of 2008.

The ceremony took place on April 14th, 2007 in the residence of the Ambassador of Burkina Faso in Washington. Mr. Norbert Toé, Sibiri Sawadogo, Moussa Barry and Franck Douamba, have all received their National Knight medals respectively from the Minister of Finance and Budget, Mr. Jean-Baptiste Compaoré, the acting governor of the BCEAO, Mr. Damo Baro Justin, Ambassador Tertius Zongo, and Mr. Lucien Marie Noel Bembamba, Managing director of the Treasury and Public Accountancy, all of whom were present in Washington as part of the Spring Meetings of the World Bank and the IMF. Also notably present at the ceremony were other friends of Burkina Faso, the other members of the Finance Minister's delegation, and the Embassy's top staff.

The government subsidizes cotton farmers: Six million US dollars is the amount of the subsidy allocated by the Burkinabè government to cotton farmers. Additionally, the cotton companies (SOFITEX, SOCOMA, FASO Cotton) are committed to taking responsibility for the VAT on entries of more than six million US dollars. Other participating banks also accept a reduction of 0.5 % of their interest rate. These measures, which will stimulate the production of cotton come as a result of long negotiations between the interprofessional Association of Cotton of Burkina Faso (AICB), the government and the other partners, in order to realize a reduction in production costs.

The CIEFFA is henceforth part of the African Union system. On April 26th in Ouagadougou, the African Union Commission officially receptioned the international Center for Education of the girls and the women in Africa "Centre international pour l’Education des filles et des femmes en Afrique" (CIEFFA) in the presence of Burkinabè and African Union officials. The ceremony was chaired by Chantal Compaoré, the First Lady.

The center generally aims at promoting the education of girls and women" so they may full participate in the elimination of poverty, in the advent of a peaceful world and a sustainable human development. It is meant to be a multidisciplinary center, a meeting place between all actors on the topic of girls’ education, and finally a center for excellence for the strengthening of women’s capabilities with respect to their responsibilities in the fight against poverty.

The CIEFFA was created in 1995 by the African Ministers for Education gathered in Ouagadougou under the aegis of UNESCO. In 2004, the African union established the Center as a specialized institution.BADEA grants a loan of 6 billion FCFA to Burkina Faso

On April 30th, 2007, the Government of Burkina Faso and the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) signed a loan agreement for 6 billion FCFA, which represents 12 million US dollars, for the partial financing of the road project for Yéguéresso-Diébougou (in the west of the country). The objective of this project is to allow the revitalization of the local economy. It will also contribute to the sub-regional integration and development of commerce between Mali, Burkina and Ghana. As such, it will result in an important reduction of transportation expenses for the Mali economic operators who will notably be able to enjoy a short cut of 350 km from the trip, in comparison with the current route.

African forum on TIC: President Blaise Compaoré advocates the building of technological facilities in Africa

President Blaise Compaoré chaired the first West African sub-regional Forum on the best practices in the use of information technology and communication, on June 7th in Ouagadougou, in the presence of his counterparts Presidents Denis Sassou Nguesso of Congo and Yayi Boni of Benin. Co-organized by Burkina Faso, Microsoft Africa, the African Development Bank, and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, this forum was an opportunity for hundred of participants to share experiences and display practical examples of successful implementation of technological solutions in their respective countries. The objective being allow these solutions to be easily duplicated in other parts of the continent, and, more broadly, to encourage investments in technologies. At this event, the Head of State of Burkina Faso called for a better contribution of information technologies and communication in the modernization of our companies, the enhancing capacity building and the improvement of IT productivity.

The forum adopted and addressed several recommendations to the African leaders among which, the collaboration with the private sector to allow all citizens to benefit from potential results of the governance, by making sure that they have access to information and public services, by the adoption of a specific law to ensure a positive environment for the promotion of the e-governance systems.

The European Union and the WAEMU sign two (2) agreements of more than 29.5 billion FCFA, (59 million US dollars). The two (2) finding agreements signed on June 6th, 2007 are related to the regional indicative Program (PIR) of the 9th European Development Fund (FED) between the EU and WAEMU.

The first agreement is for 20 billions 300 millions F CFA, which represents 40 million 600 thousand dollars US, and aims at helping the WAEMU Member States to reach the targets of the treaty, notably the completion of the customs union, the progressive establishment of a Common Market, the strengthening of the macroeconomic frame, and the improvement of the administrative framework through the enhancement of the institutional capacity building. The financing covers from the period of 2007-2011.

The second agreement for nine billion two hundred million (9.2 billion) F CFA, which represents 18 million 400 thousand US dollars covers the period from 2007-2010. All West African Economic Community (ECOWAS) are affected by the financing.

An agreement for the building of an hospital Center in Ouagadougou was signed on May 10th, 2007 between the governments of Burkina Faso and the Republic of China (Taiwan). The future hospital must meet international standards and be spacious enough to accomodate the needs of the country, and even those of the neighboring countries. The estimated cost amounts to 60,000,000 US dollars. With a capacity of 600 beds, the hospital Center will consist of buildings with 1 and 2 levels, on 100 hectares of land. The objective of this project, according to donors, is the improvement of technical and scientific offerings on-site in pathology, which requires costly evacuations.

The cooperation between the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and Burkina Faso is further strengthened with the unveiling of a Luxembourg office for cooperation on June 9th, 2007 in Ouagadougou. Relationship started in the 1960s with a Luxembourgian NGO, "Catholic Youth", which specialized in the making of asine traction plows. Later, several other NGOs were interested and became established in Burkina Faso in various sectors. They would evolve to eventually reach the intergovernmental level in 2000 with the creation of the craft village of Ouagadougou and the construction of the national and regional blood transfusion center.

Agriculture: about 2.5 billion F CFA (5 million US dollars) from Venezuela, Spain and the FAO.

On June 14th, 2007 in Ouagadougou, the governments of Burkina Faso, Spain, Venezuela and the FAO came together for the signature of three financing contracts for a total of 2.5 billion of F CFA, which represents about 5 million US dollars, intended to support agricultural production.

The first agreement of one billion two hundred ninety nine million three hundred and forty five thousand (1 299 345 000) F CFA, which represents 2 million 580 thousand dollars US, is granted by the government of Spain for the financing of agricultural project enhancement through the control of water in the South-Central and the West-Central regions.

The second which amounts to one billion one hundred eighty four million five hundred thousand (1 184 500 000) F CFA, which represents 2 million 369 thousand US dollars is offered by the Venezuelan government, again to finance the agricultural enhancement project through the control of water in the Central Plateaus, the North and Sahel regions.

Finally, the FAO contribution in the amount of 130 million of F CFA, which represents 260.000 US dollars, is intended for research and wheat cultivation in Burkina Faso.