The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation on Tuesday 26 June, 2018 hosted a day MDAs and Private Sector meeting to discuss opportunities with regards the immediate pending resuscitation of the Joint Commission with the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the Directors conference room in the Ministry.

The aim of the meeting that attracted various MDAs and Private sector enterprises was to enhance the Government’s New Direction blue print- economic diplomacy and resource mobilization and to show its readiness and willingness to resuscitate the Sierra Leone/Nigeria Joint Commission.

According to the Deputy Director General for Policy and Technical Cooperation in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Dr. Michael Kargbo, the primary focus of the meeting was to solicit input, proposals, requests and ideas for inclusion in the Joint Commission agreement. The MDAs and Private sector enterprises he said, discussed issues on enhancing opportunities for economic and technical cooperation agreements and other means of resource or assistance mobilisation and the South-South collaboration.

Discussions during the meeting bordered around cooperation in areas such as: defense; education; energy, fisheries and marine resources, health, immigration, trade and industry, petroleum industry, tourism, transportation and water resources.

It could be recalled that the second session of the Nigeria-Sierra Leone Joint Commission was held in Freetown, Republic of Sierra Leone from the 7-11 December, 1998 under the Co-Chairmanship of His Excellency Dr. Sama Banya, Honorable Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of Sierra Leone and His Excellency Alhaji Buhari Bala, Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The visit of His Excellency Dr. Julius Maada Bio to his Nigeria counterpart, President Muhammadu Buhari, last May, demonstrates the commitment of the two Heads of State to broaden and strengthen the bilateral ties between the Republic of Sierra Leone and the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The meeting was organised by the Directorate of the Economic and Technical Cooperation division (ECOTECH) headed by Mr. Obia Taylor-Kamara and also in attendance were Directors of the various Divisions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.