By Alusine Sesay
The President of Republic of Namibia, Dr. Hage Gottfried Geingob and Sierra Leone’s President Dr. Julius Maada Bio on Saturday, December 10, 2022 held fruitful talks at Presidential Lodge in Freetown on strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries.
The President of Namibia was accompanied by the First Lady Monica Geingos who was also in the country to support Sierra Leone’s First Lady Dr. Fatima Bio in commemoration of the 4th anniversary of the Hands off Our Girls campaign.
Addressing a news conference immediately after the meeting at Presidential Lodge, President Bio formally welcomed the visiting Head-of-State, his wife and delegation to Sierra Leone.
The two heads-of-state discussed how their two countries could deepen cooperation on the bilateral and multilateral levels.
President Bio said that in March 1990, when Namibia was celebrating its independence, Sierra Leone sent a high-powered delegation led by Hon. Egerton T. Kamara who held a fruitful bilateral meeting with President Sam Nujoma.
“Let note with pride and satisfaction that Sierra Leone became a source of succor to many Namibians during the days of Namibia’s colonial struggle. For example, through United Nations facilitated refugee support, our country played host to many Namibians to enable them pursue secondary school and University education,” President Bio said.
“Today we are here to celebrate diplomatic relations between Sierra Leone and Namibian established immediately after Namibia’s independence in 1990,” he said.
President Bio added that at the international and multilateral levels, Sierra Leone and Namibia have worked together on many matters, ranging from global and regional peace and security to sustainable development goals.
“Our two countries worked closely as members of the Committee of 10 African Heads of State on the reform of the UN Security Council, as well as enjoy membership in the AU Commonwealth and Non-Aligned Movement.”
He commended Namibia for its peace and democratic credentials, being one of the top-ten most peaceful nations in the world, and her steady commitment to fighting poverty and corruption, eradicating gender-based violence and her pledge to help make Sierra Leone and Namibia safe spaces for women and girls.
The President of Namibia thanked the Government and people of Sierra Leone for the warm reception accorded him, his wife and delegation during their stay in the country. He said that his visit was to ignite the historic relations between the two countries, and added that Sierra Leone has always been with Namibia at the multilateral levels and during her liberation struggle. He said that many of his colleagues schooled in Sierra Leone, and that he used to hold a Sierra Leonean passport.
He also spoke about the need for collaboration between the two countries in agriculture, mining and fisheries.
“We must come together at these challenging times to address issues affecting us,” he said.
The Minister of foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Prof. David Francis said the engagement between the two heads of States was part of an ongoing endeavor to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries.
“This visit is about recalibrating, reigniting and strengthening relationship and support both countries in the area of political cooperation,” he said.
He said that Namibia is a success story on she managed her fisheries and mining resources. “So, we want to learn from the experience of Namibia in the area of fisheries, agriculture and mining so we can benefit from a win-win basis.”
The meeting will be followed by the signing of a cooperation agreement between the two countries in February.