State House, Freetown, Tuesday 15 August 2023 – Sierra Leone’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, UN, in New York, United States of America, Ambassador Michael Imran Kanu, has taken formal leave of His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio, where he thanked him for giving him the opportunity to serve the country at the global body.
Ambassador Kanu was Sierra Leone’s Deputy Permanent Representative for Legal Affairs at the UN, where, as part of the team, was able to ensure the delivery of President Bio’s commitments and promises to the people of Sierra Leone.
“Your Excellency, I thank you for your confidence and trust, and indeed, I pledged to perform my functions with the utmost professionalism, dedication, loyalty, and diplomacy. This is not the first time I have benefited from your trust and confidence.
“In the past five years, I have been an integral part of the team working to ensure that we elevate the status of Sierra Leone at the United Nations and the International Community. To have Sierra Leoneans appointed and elected to senior positions at the United Nations systems.
“This has also culminated in the election of Sierra Leone as a Non-Permanent Member of the Security Council with an overwhelming vote of about 188 Member States supporting our bid. With your consideration and appointment as Permanent Representative to the United Nations, I indeed pledged to ensure that we maintain the status and standards but also have an effective tenure at the Security Council,” he assured.
He recalled that the President had provided guardianship and clarity in his government’s priorities and also in the priorities on which he campaigned in the June 2023 elections, adding that they would pursue those priorities, including the constitutional requirement to promote and protect the best interest of Sierra Leone.
President Julius Maada Bio, in his remarks, congratulated the Ambassador on his appointment, noting that he was no stranger to the job, hence his knowledge of the task ahead of him. He reminded him that he was really conversant with what pertained to his job and confirmed that, as President, he had full confidence that the Ambassador would perform his duties as expected.
“You are aware of the fact that you have an important task at hand to perform, which is our position as a member of the UN Security Council in the Non-Permanent member category. This means that a lot is expected of us based on the overwhelming votes we received.
“Our foreign policy has to be shown out there. As a nation, we are very conscious of the fact that the world is in a state of flux, with too many things not in their right places. So, International peace and security are very much on our minds.
“As a nation that has enjoyed the support of the United Nations, we want to contribute to international peace and stability. We want to share our experience as a nation with the rest of the world. We want to make an impact as a nation too.
“The President called on Sierra Leone’s Permanent Representative at the United Nations to understand that a lot is riding on his appointment and that, as the person who will be leading that particular position at this point in time, I have no doubt in my mind that you will be able to accomplish this task. Congratulations again, and I wish you well,” the President assured.
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