Sierra Leone’s President Dr Julius Maada Bio has expressed hope in the partnership between Sierra Leone and Korea, both now serving as non-permanent members on the United Nations Security Council, emphasising the need for shared growth, sustainability and solidarity.
In his national statement to the inaugural 2024 Korea-Africa Summit, aimed at elevating the dialogue between Korea and African nations from the ministerial to the highest levels, President Bio kept to the theme: “The Future We Make Together: Shared Growth, Sustainability, and Solidarity”, and assured of his country’s commitment to working with his counterparts.
“Sierra Leone looks forward to leveraging its relationship with the Republic of Korea and their joint Membership in the Non-Permanent Category of the UN Security Council to promote peace and security.
“Sierra Leone is committed to continuing to nurture our partnership in the Korea Africa Economic Cooperation and the Korea Africa Forum to strengthen our friendship and ensure our continued mutual prosperity. We count on our decades of bilateral relationship with the Republic of Korea to promote mutually beneficial trade and investment.
“We welcome strategic support for our food security, human capital development and infrastructure development initiatives and the requisite technological transfer to boost economic growth. We look forward to win-win trade and investments in our productive sectors for our shared benefits,” he said.
President Julius Maada Bio also spoke about international peace and security, adding that one key framework for that would be the United Nations Security Council, of which Sierra Leone had been a Non-Permanent Member since January 2024.
“At a time when conflicts, wars and terrorist activities are increasing across the world, there is no better time than now to draw from our commonalities and the international peace architecture to prevent and respond to conflicts when they occur for a collective future of ‘Shared Growth, Sustainability, and Solidarity’.
“Sierra Leone, with unwavering determination, remains committed during its tenure to ensure that the Security Council fulfils its paramount responsibility in maintaining International Peace and Security. With escalating peace and security threats, the urgency of expediting the reform of the UN Security Council becomes even more pronounced,” he stated.
