EC signs Country Strategy Paper for 2003-2007

The EC reported on Tuesday it had signed a Country Strategy Paper (CSP) for Burundi outlining its cooperation with the country between 2003 and 2007. "Signing the CSP sends a signal that we are determined to back the country's efforts towards reconstruction and successful conclusion of the Arusha peace process," Poul Nielson, the EC development and humanitarian aid commissioner, said. The EC said the main objective of the strategy was to support the government's poverty reduction strategy and its efforts to rebuild after 10 years of civil war. "EC assistance will focus largely on rural development, good governance and macroeconomic support. The strategy is backed by a budget of €172 million (US $193 million) from the ninth European Development Fund," it said. Some of the EC money would go to reviving the rural economy, where 90 percent of the population lives and living conditions are harsh. The EC said the plan was to provide aid for agriculture, which employs three-quarters of the working population, and also to diversify productive activities. Other operations will include rehabilitation of social infrastructure and support for rural health care facilities, and provide help with the resettlement of refugees and displaced people. Funds will also support good governance in order to provide institutional help for Burundi's administration, particularly at provincial and local level. "Other activities will include support for disarmament and demilitarisation and the resettlement of demobilised fighters," the EC said. It added that aid had also been earmarked to support the government's macroeconomic reform programme, with particular emphasis on giving the poorest in society better access to health care, education and drinking water. [For background information on EU relations with Burundi see: http://europa.eu.int/]