‘Sierra Leone enjoys excellent ties with KSA’

RIYADH: Sierra Leone and the Kingdom are riding the crest of excellent bilateral ties as the former marked its 55th Independence Day anniversary recently.
“We could not have asked for more in terms of the brotherly ties between my country and the Kingdom,” said Ambassador Alhaji Mohammed Sillah Kargbo.
He said that Sierra Leonean President Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma declared that his “country’s ties with the Kingdom will be sustained.”
The Sierra Leonean ambassador said that his country has benefitted from Saudi help in education, agriculture, infrastructure development and health, among other sectors.
“My government is very appreciative of Saudi Arabia’s help during the Ebola crisis as we sought technical assistance,” the Sierra Leonean ambassador said.
He added that the two countries “have enjoyed bilateral and economic ties since the 1970s and the visit of Kingdom Holding Chairman Prince Alwaleed in June 2013, was a reassurance of the concrete relationship.”
“It was also an indication that the bilateral and economic relationship between the two countries was growing from strength to strength,” he said.
He added that as a member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Sierra Leone has also received assistance from the Islamic Development Bank and the Saudi Fund for Development.
As a sign of his country’s friendship, former Sierra Leone Vice President Alhaji Abubakar Sidique Sumana visited the Kingdom on behalf of President Koroma.
“He was here on Aug. 14-15 in 2012 for the two-day Extraordinary Islamic Solidarity Conference in Makkah,” he said.
He added that Sierra Leone’s former Foreign Minister Haja Zainab Hawa Bangura also visited the Kingdom in 2009 as a state guest.