Officials of the Turkish Ministry of National Defense paid a visit to the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF) last week in the wake of signing a Military Framework Agreement by both countries on the 5th August, 2022.

The aim of the visit was for the Turkish Ministry of National Defense to have an understanding of MoD/RSLAF’s current structure and capabilities with particular attention to possible areas of intervention and assistance.

The delegation from the Turkish Ministry of National Defense was taken on a tour of RSLAF’s unit headquarters based in the Western Area. Some of the units visited are: Joint Communications Unit (JCU), Joint Logistics Unit (JLU), Peace Mission Training Center (PMTC), Electrical and Mechanical Engineering (EME), Maritime Wing, among others.

According to the Head of the Turkish delegation, Colonel Mustafa Baloğlu, “we are going to do our best to provide support where we can, and we look forward to a high level delegation from Sierra Leone”.

The Military Framework Agreement signed by Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Defense and Türkiye’s Ministry of National Defense provides a framework for enhancing cooperation and relations between the two countries’ military on defense related matters. It also covers the training of RSLAF’s personnel, provision of material, equipment, information and experience.