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Burundi Foreign Affairs Minister Terence Sinunguruza sought the help of diplomats in Bujumbura on Thursday in urging donors to fulfil pledges of aid made to the country at a Paris conference in December 2000, Radio Burundi announced.
He told the diplomats that the government would continue to implement the Arusha peace accord, which on 1 Nov. ushered in the current power-sharing administration, despite the fresh waves of attacks by rebels in the east of the country.
"The international community should also be extremely concerned by it," he said. "So we believe that the international community should do everything to fulfil the pledges it makes, in case the rebels insist on refusing to negotiate." These armed groups are the Conseil national pour la defense de la democratie-Forces pour la defence de la democratie (CNDD-FDD) and the Parti de liberation du peuple hutu-Forces nationale de liberation (Palipehutu-FNL).
As a result of the inauguration of the transitional government, the European Commission announced on 16 Nov. a 65-million-euro (US $58 million) aid deal to help repair Burundi's economic and social infrastructure such as roads and health facilities. The money will also contribute to economic recovery, support the democratic transition, initiatives to consolidate peace, as well as efforts at conflict resolution and prevention.
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