Sierra Leone’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Professor David Francis, has on Wednesday 8th June 2022, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with his Bahraini counterpart, His Excellency Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani

the purpose of the signing is for the establishment of Diplomatic Relations between the two countries. The signing ceremony took place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Conveying heartfelt appreciation for the hospitality accorded to him and his delegation during their stay in Manama, Professor Francis recalled their discussions on the Margins of the 76th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York in 2021, including the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkey, which culminated in his official visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain, noting also that it was a testament to the special relationship existing between the government and people of the two countries.

Sierra Leone’s a trade and investment potentials were also discussed; especially in the Agricultural and Mineral sectors, citing the vast hectares of arable land, coupled with the recently-revealed oil and gas deposits in the country’s offshore basin. The Honorable Minister, therefore, suggested the urgent need for a business delegation from Bahrain to visit the Republic of Sierra Leone to explore trade and investment opportunities between the two countries which would be preceded by a visit of trade and investment experts from Sierra Leone to showcase the country’s a trade and investment potentials.

Making a case for Sierra Leone’s bid in the Non-Permanent Category in the UNSC, he added that the country has progressed steadily on the international stage, playing a coordinating role in the Africa Union Committee of Ten (C-10 ) of the United Nations Security Council Reforms and serving as the Chair of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) of the AU.

“Your Excellency, I am pleased to inform you that Sierra Leone is the African Union endorsed candidate for the United Nations Security Council bid in the Non-Permanent Category for 2024-2025, with elections to be held in June 2023. We will conduct our pre-launch campaign in New York on 7th July 2022. I therefore kindly request Bahrain’s support as well as its allies,” the Hon Minister stated.

For his part, His Excellency Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani thanked the Honorable Minister for his working visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain with the view to strengthening and deepening relations between the two friendly countries. He spoke about Bahrain’s effort to maintain peace and stability in the Gulf region, noting it strives to normalize relations with the State of Israel.

Briefing his counterpart on the progress made over the years to support the Embassies, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has assigned Desk Officers to follow up on bilateral cooperation between the Kingdom of Bahrain and other friendly countries. He highlighted Bahrain’s numerous strides to improve its Human Rights status and called on Sierra Leone to support Bahrain’s fourth re-election bid in the Human Right Council.

The two Foreign Ministers agreed to support each other’s bid on a reciprocal basis and to further strengthen ties through the signing of various bilateral agreements. Accompanying the Honorable Minister was Her Excellency the Ambassador, Haja Ishata Thomas, Sierra Leone’s Non-Resident Ambassador-Designate to the Kingdom of Bahrain, and senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign