News Post

Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio Urges Intra-African Trade Relations, Hopes Visit will Trigger Business Opportunities

Libreville, Gabon, Wednesday 9 December 2020 – His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio has addressed the media just outside the Presidential Palace in the capital, Libreville, and urged the continent to prioritise the African market and boost trade with itself.

The President who was on a 3-day official visit to the Central African state and one of the most prosperous countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, thanked His Excellency Ali Bongo Ondimba and his people for the warm welcome, adding that they’ve not had time to go around a lot but were impressed even though there was more to do.

Responding to a question as to the purpose of his visit, the President said: “We are all moving gradually towards development and we think that a few things have been done here. That’s why we came to look at what is happening and what we could learn from those”.

“Trade among countries in Africa is one thing that we have not been doing well with. So, yes, there is a necessity for us to deepen this relationship. There are a few things here that we can copy and adapt to work in Sierra Leone. This will not be the end of our cooperation,” he said.

He added that he was going to get his Minister of Trade to visit the country so that those visits could be translated into a mutually beneficial relationship between the two countries.

Acting Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Dr Abubakarr Karim, said that what they saw, during a tour of the Gabon Special Economic Zones, was an interesting model and that it would be useful for the two countries to collaborate, set up a synergy and understand how the Gabonese had done it.

It could be recalled that in March 2018, African countries signed a landmark trade agreement, the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement, which commits countries to remove tariffs on 90 per cent of goods, progressively liberalise trade in services, and address a host of other non-tariff barrier.

For More Enquiries: State House Media and Communications Unit +23276758764/+23278394949

Press Releases

Related Posts

Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio Launches Energy Transition And Green Growth Plan, Commits To A Greener And More Sustainable Energy Future

Freetown International Conference Center, Freetown, Monday, November 4, 2024 – His Excellency President Dr. Julius Maada Bio officially launched Sierra Leone’s Energy Transition Plan and Green Growth Plan alongside other

Read More »

Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio Engages In Productive Meeting With Senior U.S. Government Officials, Advocates For Collaboration In Agriculture And Food Security

Iowa, United States, Wednesday, October 30, 2024 – His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio held a productive meeting with senior officials from the United States government, emphasizing the need for

Read More »