Algeria/ Cooperation : Sierra Leonean President on three-day visit to Algiers
President Abdelmadjid Tebboune received his Sierra Leonean counterpart, President Julius Maada Bio, at the Presidential Palace yesterday. President Bio is on a three-day visit to Algeria since Tuesday. The two Presidents held talks on issues common to both countries.
Upon his arrival at the Houari-Boumediene International Airport in Algiers, the Sierra Leonean Head of State was welcomed by Prime Minister Nadir Larbaoui. He then visited the Martyrs’ Sanctuary in Algiers, accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the National Community Abroad, Ahmed Attaf, where he paid homage to the martyrs of the glorious national liberation war. Sierra Leone’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Moussa Timote Katba, a member of the delegation accompanying President Julius Maada Bio, was received by his Algerian counterpart, Ahmed Attaf.
The two diplomats had previously met in December of last year on the sidelines of the High-Level Seminar on Peace and Security in Africa held in Oran. On that occasion, the Sierra Leonean diplomat and his Nigerian and Tunisian counterparts, who also had discussions with Attaf, praised « Algeria’s consistent commitment to its African identity, one aspect of which materialized in the Oran process with the efforts and steps that followed to defend Africa’s causes and aspirations on the international stage ».
It is worth noting that Algeria and Sierra Leone are non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council for the 2024-2025 period, alongside South Korea, Guyana, and Slovenia. On June 6th of last year, at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, 184 out of 193 voting countries (95% of the votes) expressed their support for Algeria to occupy this position.
President Tebboune has reiterated Algeria’s commitment to voice Africa’s concerns in this crucial UN body during his term and work towards global peace and security. Sierra Leone, as a West African state and a member of ECOWAS, is in negotiations with Niger for a smooth return to constitutional order after the military coup last July. Algeria successfully mediated and proposed a crisis resolution plan involving all parties in Niger when regional countries were considering military intervention against the coup.
This visit comes a few days after the visit to Algiers by Niger’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation, and Nigeriens Abroad, Yaou Bakary Sangaré. He held discussions with his Algerian counterpart Ahmed Attaf, focusing on the evolution of the crisis in the neighboring country.
