Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Thursday 27 July 2023 – His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio has held several bilateral meetings on the margins of the Africa Human Capital Heads of State Summit in Tanzania, one of them with Mr. Demeke Mekonnen Hassen, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.
Mr. Hassen congratulated President Bio on his reelection, at the first ballot, in the recently held 2023 elections and also used the opportunity to express felicitations on Sierra Leone’s recent elections on the non-permanent seat of United Nations Security Council, emphasising that the two successes were important for the small West African nation.
On their flagship programmes, the Deputy Prime Minister said Ethiopia’s Green Legacy on climate change had seen 25 billion trees planted in the last 5 years, adding that there were also the ‘Basket of Abundance’ project, with each home engaging in agriculture and planting vegetables, the ‘Quality Education’ for the new generation and the successful Health Insurance programmes.
On his part, President Julius Maada Bio assured of Sierra Leone’s continued support and respect for her friendly relations with Ethiopia.
He also congratulated the Deputy Prime Minister on the success of wheat production in Ethiopia, adding that they had set a bright example of good practice that Sierra Leone could learn from, especially now that agriculture and food security were among the Big Five Manifesto priorities.
He also noted that the success of their health insurance scheme could provide lessons for Sierra Leone and proposed the expansion of the services of Ethiopian Airlines to Freetown.
The two leaders reflected on discussions they had in 2019 when the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Hassen led a high-power delegation to Sierra Leone on a two-day working state visit and to be part of a high-level inter-ministerial meeting with ministries, departments and agencies on bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
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