Press Secretary Solomon Jamiru Addresses Journalists After Saudi-Africa Summit

Solomon Jamiru Esq., Press Secretary to Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio has on the 17^th November, 2023 addressed Journalists after fruitful trips to Africa Investment Forum, OIC, and Saudi-Africa Summits

He briefed the media on the outcomes of two major international engagements – Africa Investment Forum in Marrakech, Morocco and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Saudi-Africa Summits in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where he recounted the many fruitful bilateral meetings with the Saudi Minister of Education, His Excellency Dr Yousef bin Abdullah Al-Benyan, the engagement with Yasir bin Othman Al-Rumayyan, Governor of the Saudi Public Investment Fund, PIF, the sovereign wealth fund of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

He recalled that the meeting between the President, his Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Timothy Musa Kabbah, and Amin Hassan Naser, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Saudi-ARAMCO, officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Group and the second largest in the world by revenue in 2022, as he emphasised the role of the media in understanding important issues that touched and concerned Sierra Leoneans, citing trade and investment in the context of President Julius Maada Bio’s five key development priorities in his second mandate. He drew the attention of journalists to the FEED SALONE, a priority agenda of the government that sought to achieve food self-sufficiency and sovereignty.

“So that’s why we want to be in a position to reduce imports of rice and increase exports of food crops, create jobs and stimulate economic growth and human development, the flagship of the president in his first mandate. Within the broader configuration of things discussed, trade and investment are at the heart of the engagements on economic diplomacy.