Sierra Leone’s President, Julius Maada Bio is expected to meet today, Wednesday, December 14th with his United States counterpart, President Joe Biden at the White House.

President Bio is one of the leaders of Six African countries that will be holding Presidential elections next year who have been invited by President Biden for a private meeting before the Summit Dinner for the over forty other leaders and their spouses who are in Washington DC for the U.S.-Africa Leadership Summit.

First Lady, Dr. Fatima Maada Bio will also be meeting with the U.S. First Lady, Jill Biden who will be hosting a spousal program as part of the U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts to advance shared priorities with the spouses of African leaders.

In support of the Biden Administration’s Cancer Moonshot, the U.S First Lady will host a conversation with over 20 spouses and representatives from the private sector and non-governmental organisations, on breaking down barriers to cancer prevention, early detection, and care for young women and girls around the world.
President Bio and his wife yesterday also attended a Bipartisan Bicameral Dinner Reception with other African Leaders at the Capitol at the invitation of Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the U.S. Congress.

In another engagement, President Bio yesterday told a gathering of World Leaders, Members of the U.S. Congress, Senators, Business Professionals, Young Leaders, and the Africa Diaspora Community at the Museum of African American History and Culture that the future of Africa is in its young people, the Youths.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the future belongs to Africa’s youths, the youths are Africa’s biggest assets. We must invest in them to build the skills and encourage entrepreneurship while providing access to the financial resources necessary to unlock the creativity and unleash the power of their business enterprises,” he said.

Introducing President Bio was Congressman, Gregory Meeks who traced his root to Sierra Leone through DNA and visited the country earlier this year. He played glowing tribute to President Bio whom he referred to as the President of the home of his mother.

“When I went back home to my motherland and met with President Bio, there was an instant connection,” he said with a broad smile.

Speaking on the Theme of the Forum: “Amplifying Voices: Building Partnerships that Last,” President Bio while thanking President Biden for convening the Summit said the world cannot make the progress it needs to make without Africa especially when the continent has a huge percentage of earth mineral reserves including forty percent of the world’s gold, a higher percentage of rare earth metals which are important for developing new and emerging technologies added to the twelve percent world reserve of oil and eight percent of the worlds natural gas reserve plus the largest and most diverse ecosystem in the world.

While speaking on Human Capital Development and whether Africa is making the right policies and digital infrastructure and investment to prepare itself for its youth’s budget and the looming fourth industrial revolution with prospects for Africa’s socio-economic transformation, he said he believes that Africa must embark on innovative programs and financing approaches to accelerate job creation for the youths in Africa and unlock economic prosperity from Africa’s demographic assets.

“In Sierra Leone, we have prioritized investing in education, health care, and food security. Providing every child in Sierra Leone especially girls with free quality education, we equip them with the skills they require for participation in an inclusive and sustainable global economy. Girls studying STEM are guaranteed tuition-free education from Nursery through University under my administration,” he revealed.

He added that an educated population in a well-governed society in which the Government invests in people is essential for building and consolidating a vibrant, free, progressive, inclusive, and just society.

“I am a great believer in education for personal development, community and national development, and for building more resilient economies and democracies,” he noted.

The President also highlighted what he referred to as progressive laws passed by his administration that enrich society and the country’s democracy including a Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment bill, abolished the death penalty, repealed criminal libel, laws, and opened up spaces for journalism and civil society, decongested prisons, clamped down hard on sexual and gender-based violence, and more.

While calling for a concerted effort to address the global challenges including the migration of African youths for greener pastures, he said no one country can solve the world’s numerous interlocking challenges noting that the world is helplessly interlinked and should face its interlocking challenges together.

Ending his address with loud applause from the crowd, President Bio called for strong partnerships where all strategies and goals are well-aligned and transparent from the outset which he said are critical in all of the discussions.

“I have said before that the most transformative and nation or world-changing events begin when we make bold choices, ask “Why not?” and let those bold choices happen,” he ended.