By Abubakarr Bah
Royal Airport, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Sunday, November 12, 2023
His Excellency, President Dr. Julius Maada Bio, has departed Saudi Arabia for Sierra Leone after attending the Saudi-Africa Summit and holding fruitful meetings of mutual interest on the sidelines with some of his counterparts. President Bio also had very fruitful meetings with the Saudi Minister of Education, Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud, and the leaderships of some key institutions in the Kingdom.
The President, together with the Chief Minister, David Moinina Sengeh, the Foreign Minister, Timothy Kabba, ministers of Health, Trade, Agriculture and Tourism, held successful meetings with the Chief Executive Officers of the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), ARAMCO-one of the world’s leading oil companies, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), and the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSRelief)- a leading humanitarian organisation that is serving people and communities in 86 countries around the world.
The meetings mainly focused on projects that relate to the Bio Government Big Five Game Changers 2023-2028 Agenda namely; Feed Salone, Human Capital Development, Youth Empowerment Scheme (YES), Revamping the Public Service Architecture and achieving Sustainable Economic Growth through Technology and Infrastructure.
President Bio and his ministers defined Sierra Leone as a peaceful, friendly country that is open to trade and investment, endowed with approximately 5.4 million hectares of arable land, and one that is rich in natural minerals resources, including crude oil.
The CEOs of ARAMCO, SFD, PIF, and the KSRlief assured His Excellency President Bio and his ministers of collaborative partnership of mutual interest.
