Brussels, 18 December 2011/ ACP Newsdesk: ACP Secretary General Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas paid a courtesy call to the President of the Republic of Liberia Ellen Sirleaf Johnson, who was briefly in Brussels early in the week. President Johnson Sirleaf was in Europe to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway on 12^th December, alongside two other remarkable women, Liberian peace activist Leymah Gbowee and Yemeni pro-democracy opposition leader Tawakkul Karman. The three were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their “non violent struggle or the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work”.

After meeting with the Secretary General, President Johnson Sirleaf travelled to Paris to attend the Forum for New Diplomacy, where she spoke on the topic of “Africa: A woman’s perspective”. President Johnson Sirleaf is the first elected female Head of Government in Liberia. She and her fellow laureates are the first women to win the Nobel Prize since the late Wangari Maathai of Kenya was named as laureate in 2004. It also makes President Johnson Sirleaf and Gbowee the second and third African women to ever be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

The Secretary General took the opportunity to reinforce ties with Liberia, which is an ACP member state.

– ACP Newsdesk

(Pictured: ACP Secretary General Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas (centre), accompanied by Assistant Secretary General and Head of Political and Humanitarian Affairs Michele Dominique Raymond, pay a visit to Liberian President and 2011 Nobel Peace Prize winner Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (right) in Brussels.)

See also: ACP Group commends Nobel Peace Prize winners