President Bio and President Al Sissi in his previous visit to Egypt

Abubakar Hashim

President Julius Maada Bio, today, arrived Cairo, Egypt, for a three- day strategic engagements, March 26 to 28, on a special invitation by his colleague Present Abdel Fattah Al Sissi.

He was met on arrival by senior officials of the Egypt Foreign Ministry and Sierra Leone Embassy in Cairo.

President Bio’s visit will focus on building on the strong bilateral relations between the two countries, particularly on education, health, agriculture and mining.

The three-day strategic engagements will be mutually beneficial to both countries, with strong historical relations.

Egypt was among the first countries, with Nigeria, to establish a full diplomatic relations with Sierra Leone, with resident Ambassadors. Egypt is among North African countries with strong bilateral relations with Sierra Leone, with Libya, particularly under late Muhammar Ghaddaffi, who left behind numerous legacies in Sierra Leone.

Sierra Leone opened an embassy in Egypt in 1968, but closed it in 1983, due to dire economic challenges in Sierra Leone.

The Ambassador in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was tasked to cover Egypt with non resident status, until after the official declaration of the end of war in 2002, when the government of late Ahmad Tejan Kabba re established a full diplomatic presence in Egypt.

Since then, relations between the two countries have been waxing stronger.
It has now climaxed to a higher strategic level, with an invitation by Egyptian President Al Sissi to his colleague President Bio for a 3 day state visit.