Veteran Journalist and Publisher of the Global Times Newspaper, Sorie Fofana, has shared a beautiful experience he had with President Julius Maada Bio on their recent trip to Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia.

The Global Times publisher was one of the esteemed journalists nominated to travel with the president to Riyadh to attend the Saudi-African Summit.

Recounting the journey, Fofana said the experience was the greatest privilege of his life. He said they were given the opportunity to sit and travel with the president on a Saudi Royal family private jet, back to Freetown.

“We received a Royal reception” Fofana said as he described his meeting with the President after they were picked up from their Hotel by a Saudi Embassy vehicle and escorted to the Royal Terminal where the Saudi Royal Fleet sat.

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Read the full narration below:

“Manjoroka

TRAVELING WITH THE PRESIDENT ON BOARD A ROYAL PRIVATE JET

Since his reelection in June this year, His Excellency President Dr. Julius Maada Bio, has been busy making big and significant appearances on the foreign stage. He is preparing the country for the arduous task of occupying a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for the period 2024 to 2025. After the June 24 elections, President Bio replaced both his Foreign Minister and His Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

Almost two weeks ago, I was pleasantly surprised when I was informed by the Hon. Vice President Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh that President Bio had graciously nominated me to attend the Saudi-African Summit in Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia. I sent a message to the President, thanking him for his generous consideration. I was extremely pleased and excited about the news. It was an ecstatic moment considering the fact that, I was nominated by the President. I experienced a feeling of relief.

Together with my colleague Mohamed Sesay (Pastor of Comment Newspaper), the other Presidential nominee for the summit, we arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in time for the summit. All invited journalists were taken to the Media Oasis in Riyadh where the summit was broadcast live by the Saudi Broadcasting Authority. We stayed at the prestigious Riyadh Marriott Hotel with great expectations.

End of Summit

The one-day Saudi-African Summit was held under the leadership of the Crown Prince of Saudi, the 38-year-old Mohamed Bin Salman. After the Saudi-African Summit, a Joint Arab Islamic Extraordinary Summit was held a day after the Saudi-African Summit, to address the extraordinary humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

After the Joint Arab-Islamic Extraordinary Summit in Riyadh, the Saudi Foreign Minister, Faisal Bin Farhan Al Saud, came to the prestigious Ritz Carlton Hotel, to address us (media practitioners). The global media was well represented. The Minister took few questions from the media in the presence of the Secretary General of the Arab League, Ahmad Aboul Gheit. They both condemned the mass killings of babies in the Gaza Strip and called for an immediate cessation of hostilities on the part of the Israeli Defence Forces.

 

Offer To Travel With Mr. President

President Bio and some members of his delegation to the Saudi-African Summit stayed at the prestigious Ritz Carlton Hotel in Riyadh. Other African Presidents and their delegations stayed in the same hotel.

Security in and around the Ritz Carlton Hotel was watertight. It was difficult, if not impossible, to access the hotel without security clearance.

My colleague and I wanted to visit the President at the Ritz Carlton Hotel to thank him for nominating us to attend the summit. Because of the security constraint, we made no progress. We then decided to text the Personal Assistant to the President to express our desire to see the President before he leaves Riyadh for Freetown on Sunday.

To our great surprise, the President’s PA got back to us, few minutes later, to inform us that, President Bio had offered us two seats on one of the Saudi Royal private jets belonging to the Royal Family that had been assigned to take him and his delegation back to Freetown. That was the best surprise ever!

One of our Saudi Embassy vehicles was sent to pick us from Marriott Hotel to the Royal Terminal where the Saudi Royal Fleet sat.

We were escorted to the Royal Terminal by a security detail assigned to the Sierra Leone delegation. We received a Royal reception.

 

Take Off & Landing

On board the Saudi Royal private jet, we had other Sierra Leoneans including Cabinet Ministers, business executives, etc who were part of the Presidential delegation to Saudi Arabia.

This was the first time I was travelling with a sitting President on a private jet. Poor man from Manjoro being flown from Riyadh to Freetown on a Royal private jet! I never expected that to happen. That was the greatest privilege of my life.

On board the flight, we decided to move from our seats to talk to His Excellency the President, more especially, to thank him for nominating us to attend the summit and for offering us seats on the private jet that was carrying him back to Freetown.

On board the flight, the President was very relaxed after a hectic trip. He was busy reading a novel. We thanked him for his gracious consideration. He said, “You guys deserve it…We can do more of this in future…I like to talk to my media friends most often…But the work load is not creating that conducive atmosphere for us to meet and talk regularly as we used to do before”.

What amazes me most about the President’ character was his compassion and humility. At one point, he left his seat on the plane to meet and greet everyone on the flight.

Apparently, he knows all of us by name. He stood up and spoke briefly to all of us, moving from one person to another. That was quite amazing to me. It shows the President’s simplicity and humane character.

Even after we landed safely at the Freetown International Airport, President Bio made sure that, we were all treated equally and we boarded a special Seabird Express boat that ferried us across to Murray Town in Freetown.

Travelling with the President on board a Royal private jet is an opportunity of a lifetime. It is indeed the greatest privilege of my life. The President is a man who treats his compatriots with compassion.

God Bless President Bio!!”