Abubakar Hashim
Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio, today, commenced a three- day strategic engagements with his counterpart, President Abdel Fattah Al Sissi of Egypt.
The engagements, tagged strategic, will focus more on economic matters, including agriculture, the prime focus of the Bio- led government through his “ Feed Salone” program, bilateral air services agreement, BASA, for Egypt Air to commence commercial operations to Freetown, and other economic cooperation.
President Al Sissi is poised to open up economic opportunities in Sierra Leone, through strengthening Sierra Leone-Egypt Business Council.
In the area of agriculture, Egypt’s private sector investors are interested in the fruits industry, to add value onto pineapple, mango, ginger, that Sierra Leone is ranked top as a leading producer.
Cairo, Egypt’s capital, is currently the largest economy in Africa, followed by Lagos and Johannesburg.
Bio’s three- day strategic engagements is meant to clear all grey areas of cooperation, that have been dormant.
Sierra Leone closed its embassy in 1983 due to severe internal economic challenges , but re-opened after the war in 2002 under the dynamic leadership of late Ahmad Tejan Kabbah.
Since then, successive governments have elevate the bilateral relations between the two countries, with restoration of full diplomatic presence of respective resident ambassadors.
It is, however, under the Bio led government that an economic diplomatic pace, particularly in agriculture, aviation and mining, is elevated to what it is currently tagged strategic engagements.