PHILADELPHIA/USA: The Speaker of the House of Representatives of the 55th Legislature, Cllr. Jonathan Fonati Koffa, has joined President Joseph Nyuma Boakai in Rome, Italy, at World Food Forum.
Speaker Koffa cut short his trip in the United States of America (USA) on Sunday, October 13, 2024, to join President Boakai in Italy, to attend the World Food Forum.
According to a dispatch from the Speaker’s media team, Speaker Koffa, immediately after delivering the keynote address at the 12th National Convention of the Association of Liberian Journalists in Americas (ALJA) in Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA, departed the USA for Rome, Italy.
The ALJa convention is an annual event aimed to bring together several international Journalists of Liberian origin. Attendees of the ALJA conference include also include officials of the Liberian government, politicians, civil society actors and friends of the Liberian media.
The World Food Forum, scheduled from Monday to Friday, 14 – 18 of October, organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), will bring together global leaders and stakeholders to discuss critical issues concerning global food security, sustainable agriculture, and rural developments.
Recently, it was reported that President Boakai extended an invitation to Speaker Koffa and three others to accompany him attend the five-day World Food Forum; including a luncheon with the Director-General of the FAO, meetings with key international figures such as the President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and the Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP).
President Boakai and delegation will also have discussion with Italy’s Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, and other top Italian officials to discuss strategic partnerships and opportunities for collaboration.
Moreover, the Presidential delegation will have audience with Pope Francis at the Vatican City.
The discussion with the Pope Is to enhance the already positive relationship between the Holy City and Liberia.
Speaker Koffa is the highest-ranking Catholic Parishioner in government. President Boakai is a Baptist while Vice President Jeremiah Koung is a Methodist.
The Catholic Church in Liberia is among the leading social services providers, mostly in education and health through its schools and hospitals.
Meanwhile, President Boakai and delegation are expected to also hold talks with the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, in the company of the Vatican Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher.
Liberia has about 800,000 Catholic believers, almost 20 percent of its total population of five million people.
This is the second holiest places the Liberian House speaker will be visiting in two years.
Last year, the Speaker was in Israel, the birth place of Jesus Christ; the eternal, all-powerful, all-loving, self-existent Creator God.