A high power delegation from the Federal Republic of Ethiopia led by the Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen Hassen arrived in Sierra Leone on a two days working State visit. The purpose of the visit was to hold a high-level Inter-ministerial meeting with Ministries, Departments and Agencies on bilateral cooperation between the Republic of Sierra Leone and the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. The Inter-Ministerial meeting took place at the conference hall of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Tower Hill in Freetown on Saturday, 12^th January, 2019.

In her opening remarks, the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Mrs. Nimatulai Bah-Chang tendered her apology for the absence of the substantive Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Dr. Alie Kabba. The Acting Minister narrated the historical diplomatic relations between the two countries since 1970 with the level of an Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. She added that the opening of a full mission in Ethiopia would laid the foundation for a deeper relations between Sierra Leone and Ethiopia.

Madam Bah-Chang further stated that the meeting between the two countries was to hold a constructive dialogue and to exchange views in the areas of investment, promotion, mining, agriculture, tourism, security and intelligence sharing.

Meanwhile, two power point presentations were done by the Sierra Leone Import and Export Promotion Agency (SLIEPA) on an overview of Sierra Leone’s Trade and Investment potentials. Whilst another presentation on the Development Blueprint of Sierra Leone which was done by the Ministry of Development and Economic Planning.

Ministers at the session, said Sierra Leone and Ethiopia have common similarities in terms of developments but that, there are areas that Sierra Leone needs to emulate from Federal Republic of Ethiopia.

A Representative from the Ethiopian delegation expressed his appreciation to the Acting Minister and the people of Sierra Leone for the kind hospitality shown the delegation during their stay in Sierra Leone. He said that the delegation’s visit to Sierra Leone would deepen the already existing ties between the two countries, and also create an excellent opportunity to establish strong relations in the social and economic sectors.

The Director General and Ambassador at-Large Paul A.S.Minah in his closing remarks who thanked the ministers and the various representatives from the different Ministries, Departments and Agencies for their contributions, and the Ethiopian delegation for the encouraging comments. He furthered that the meeting would continue to build on the existing bilateral ties between Sierra Leone and Ethiopia with the hope of strengthening and deepening economic, political and social cooperation. The programme was climaxed with interactions from the various participants. The Deputy Prime Minister and team arrived in Sierra Leone on the 11^th and depart on the 14^th January, 2019.