Strengthening bilateral cooperation between Monaco and Madagascar

Madagascar has been a priority country for the Prince’s Government’s development aid and cooperation policy for more than a decade.

With this in mind, in parallel with the 16th Summit of La Francophonie, which was held in the Madagascan capital on 26 and 27 November, the visit of the Monegasque delegation was an opportunity to significantly strengthen the cooperative links which unite the two countries, through the signature of four cooperation agreements and meetings with partner organisations.

On 25 November, the Monegasque delegation was received by the Minister of Health, alongside representatives from the World Health Organisation. A framework agreement, signed by H.E. Mr Serge Telle and Professor Lalatiana Andriamanarivo, Madagascar’s Minister of Public Health, focuses on improving access to quality health care in public facilities for the most vulnerable groups of the population.

Two days earlier, on 23 November, Gilles Tonelli and Dr Seth Berkley, the CEO of GAVI, signed a cooperation agreement which commits the Government of Monaco to donating 550,000 euros to this international organisation to ensure that children living in the world’s poorest countries gain better access to vaccinations.

Finally, two further cooperation agreements were signed with the Fondation Alliance Française, to improve access to education, support the French language and reduce the digital divide, and with GRET, to support a nutrition education programme in poor urban areas.

In addition to signing these cooperation agreements, the Monegasque delegation met all of the country’s partners working in the fields of sickle-cell anaemia and malaria control, provision of assistance to street children, food security, and support for those with disabilities. These include the Institut Pasteur, the World Food Programme and Médecins du Monde, as well as numerous local NGOs who do some remarkable work, often under very difficult conditions, in this country which has been hit by crisis since 2009. In this context, Monaco’s Official Development Assistance is also committed to supporting civil society in Madagascar, as part of an innovative partnership with the European Union.

* The Monegasque delegation comprised:

-        H.E. Mr Serge Telle, Minister of State

-        Mr Gilles Tonelli, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation

-        Ms Bénédicte Schutz, Director of International Cooperation

-        Ms Sophie Robin, Programme Manager at the Department of International Cooperation

-        Ms Bérengère Andriamialison, Country Coordinator for the Department of International Cooperation, based in Antananarivo