Sierra Leone’s Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Rashid Sesay, has engaged the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation to discuss the welfare of Sierra Leonean workers in the Gulf State.

According to Sesay, his visit was part of his continued engagements with the UAE authorities on welfare issues of his nationals working in the country with particular focus on the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the UAE and Sierra Leone in the Field of Manpower.

Signed in 2021, the MoU focused on enhancing the existing friendly relations between the two countries through cooperation in the field of manpower to promote mutual benefits, while also guiding the development of an institutional partnership between the two countries with a focus on practical outcomes from an improved administration of the contract employment cycle of Sierra Leonean workers in the UAE.

“We want to further engage and see how we can reactivate the provisions of the MoU signed between our two countries by developing a concrete framework on recruitments and other related employment issues,” the Sierra Leone Envoy said.

Ambassador Sesay also used the occasion to discuss his recent engagements with Sierra Leoneans across the seven Emirates on the ongoing Amnesty program while also highlighting concerns of his nationals and exploring possible solutions.

On her part, Shayma Yousef Alawadhi, Assistant Undersecretary for Communication and International Relations at the Ministry of Human Resources said that since the signing of the MOU a lot had happened including a significant increase in the number of Sierra Leoneans working in the UAE. She assured of her Ministry’s commitment to work with their Sierra Leonean counterparts through a joint-committee to flesh out the provisions of the MoU. She also discussed the UAE’s efforts aimed at protecting the rights of migrant workers.