The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.
Bloomberg
Burundi and the European Union have accelerated talks on lifting sanctions imposed by the bloc, according to Foreign Affairs Minister Albert Shingiro.
The EU placed penalties on some politicians and state officials and froze government financing in 2015 during
a political crisis
that followed former President Pierre Nkurunziza’s decision to seek a third term, a move seen by the opposition as a violation of a peace deal. Ensuing violence left about 1,200 people dead and forced 400,000 others to flee the country.
Evariste Ndayishimiye succeeded Nkurunziza as president in June last year. Shingiro has held two meetings with EU representative Claude Bochu and ambassadors from France, Belgium and Germany, he said in comments on the national broadcaster. The minister is expected to travel to Europe in June for further talks on lifting the sanctions before the end of the year. The EU froze $514 million of funding and Belgium blocked disbursement of 60 million euro to the country that depended on foreign aid for much of its budget.