President Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leone, has on Tuesday August 17th 2021, attended the 15th International Defence (IDEF) Summit in Istanbul Turkey as the only African Head of State present at the meeting alongside the Head of State of Turkey.

Present were thirty-four Defence Ministers from Africa and some of the World’s top defence leaders. President Bio who was a special guest of His Excellency President Racey Tayip Erdogan, was accompanied by the Minister of Defence, Rtd. Brig. Kelli Conteh and H.E. Mohamed Hassan KaiSamba, Sierra Leone’s Ambassador to the Republic of Turkey.

The International Defence Industry Fair, has been held in Turkey and organized by the Turkish Armed Forces every two years, since 1993. IDEF is the biggest defence industry fair in Eurasian region and one of the top four in the world.

According to a government news dispatch, “the special invitation extended to President Bio by President Racep Erdogan, is a manifestation of the strength of the bilateral relations between Sierra Leone and the Republic of Turkey, which continues to grow and develop”.

The news adds that it may be recalled that, “Just over a week ago, H.E. President Bio was in London, making a case for developing Sierra Leone’s Human Capital base, through Education”.