The Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt to Sierra Leone, Mohamed Mounir Loutfy, has called at the presidency to bid farewell to His Excellency, President Julius Maada Bio, and convey a message of solidarity for the stability and development of the nation after the unfortunate crisis of August 10, 2022.
The curtsy farewell was done at the State House in Freetown on Wednesday, August 24, 2022, according to the Media and Communication Unit of the government.
The outgoing Egyptian Ambassador thanked the President, government, and people of Sierra Leone for their hospitality during his stay in the country, stating that "it is a great pleasure and honor to have had the opportunity to work in Sierra Leone."
"During the last few years, we have been working hard to expand and update our excellent bilateral relations between the two countries, which has led to many high-profile visits by government officials and the private sector to explore investment opportunities," the Ambassador said.
The Ambassador reminded the audience that work was being done to actualize the two countries' 1978 bilateral health relations and that they were also exploring new areas of cooperation in preparation for the establishment of the Diplomatic Academy in September of this year.
"We are exploring new ideas to extend our capacity-building programs in Sierra Leone, in line with your government’s human capital development agenda. We are now looking for new partnerships between the government and the private sector, and our companies are already in the country to extend our training to young medical doctors in several medical specialties.
"On behalf of the President of Egypt, we are looking forward to receiving you in Cairo by November for the COP27 Summit, which will be held under the leadership of all African Presidents," he said.
In his remarks, President Julius Maada Bio thanked the Ambassador as he came to the end of his duty, stating that he was delighted that he could cover a lot of areas during his duty and that he was also happy that he was able to engage with more people in government and the private sector.
"I want to convey my fraternal greetings to His Excellency Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of the Arab Republic of Egypt and assure him that I will come in November to attend the COP27 Summit. I want to extend my profound gratitude for Egypt’s support, which has been consistent. "Egypt has been supportive consistently of Sierra Leone’s leadership of the C10," he said.
He assured the outgoing Ambassador of his government and the nation’s readiness to work with the Arab Republic of Egypt to expand on their areas of interest, adding that Sierra Leone was a human capital-driven nation that believed in the high-quality human capacity to achieve development.
"So, sustainable development will never come if we do not invest in human beings. That is why we are putting a lot of premium on that," the President stated.
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President Julius Maada Bio, Ambassador Mohamed Mounir Loutfy, and Prof. David Francis, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
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