By Ishmael Bayoh
On the invitation of the Vice President of Sierra Leone, the Prime Minister of Senegal- Ousmane Sonko and his high level delegation visited the country for a two days working session from Monday June 2 to Tuesday June 3. During discussions, they made tremendous progress on commitments that His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio and President Bassirou Diomaye Faye made about a year ago in Freetown.
Vital memorandums of cooperation was signed that facilitated the establishment of a Joint Technical Committee with the task of scoping opportunities in the minerals, energy, aviation and agriculture sectors. With this highlight, I bring you other developmental strides from June 1 to June 6 2025. Eidul Mubarak.
▪President Bio on Tuesday June 3 participated in the second edition of the 2025 Digital Innovation Summit where he reaffirmed his government’s bold vision to position Sierra Leone as a regional leader in digital transformation and innovation.
▪On Tuesday June 3 at Lungi, the Sierra Leone’s Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates- Rashid Sesay handed over 20,000 doses of Mpox vaccines to the Ministry of Health and Sanitation donated by the Government of the United Arab Emirates to bolster Sierra Leone’s response to the Mpox virus outbreak. This signifies the strong bilateral relations between the two countries.
▪At the end of the Educube Debate competition, Mohamed Turay won the grand prize containing a fully equipped 20ft Educube Hub
for his school with 18 computers, Air conditioning, Starlink internet, television and printer. Support will also be given to the top three for their continued learning.
▪Sierra Leone continues to shine at the international stage with the latest being; elected to the UN Economic and Social Council for the 2026–2028 term, with 186 votes. This is a perfect transition of the country from the UN Security Council to ECOSOC reaffirming the country’s enduring commitment to the UN and the advancement of its core purposes.
▪Creating more bilateral ties saw on Thursday 5, His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio received letters of credence from six newly accredited envoys representing their respective countries at a formal ceremony held at State House in Freetown. They are , Her Excellency Ms. Norma Sanchez Aguila, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Cuba, His Excellency Mr. Abdelhafid Hachem, Ambassador of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, His Excellency Mr. Roey Gilad, Ambassador of the State of Israel, Her Excellency Ms. Myriam Montrac, High Commissioner of Canada, His Excellency Mr. Isaac Keen Parashina, Ambassador of the Republic of Kenya and His Excellency Mr. Dominique Favre, Ambassador of Switzerland.
▪Working towards energy sovereignty and sustainable development, President Bio is set to officially launch the Salone Off-grid Renewable Energy Acceleration Initiative (SOGREA), a €34 million solar minigrid project that will significantly advance Sierra Leone’s green energy future. Hosted by Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), the initiative is a collaborative effort between the Government, the EU and the United Nations Office for Project Services. It aims to increase energy access in rural communities across the country by 2027, deploying at least 5.2 megawatts peak (MWp) of solar generation capacity through the installation of minigrids.25,000 households and 2,800 businesses across approximately 60 communities are set to benefit.
▪Sierra Leone and Senegal on Tuesday 3 signed several Cooperation Agreements in Freetown following a working session between officials of the two countries. Several memoranda of understanding were signed involving the Vice President of Sierra Leone, Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, Prime Minister of Senegal, Ousmane Sonko focusing on energy, the development of natural resources, and the facilitation of investments between the two countries and within the West Africa region.
▪During the opening of the 2025 Sierra Leone Innovate Digital Government Summit on Wednesday 4th at the Bintumani Conference Center in Freetown, history was made as Sierra Leone became the first country in West Africa to launch the 5G Open-Access Network, paving the way for inclusive digital transformation. This major milestone is achieved through a Government-Private Partnership with Zoodlab.
▪Sierra Leone has concluded a three- day national summit held under the theme: “5+ Years of NIDS: Building the Skills to Drive Sustainable Economic Growth and National Development.” Organized by the Ministry of Communications, Technology and Innovation, it sets the stage for showcasing the country’s progress, potential, and forward-looking policies in the digital age since the launch of the National Innovation and Digital Strategy in 2019. This strategy has been transformative igniting a wave of public sector innovation- from digital IDs and e-governance platforms to youth digital skills training.
