President El-Sisi’s Speech at Joint Press Conference with the President of Sierra Leone

alhadath – cairo

“In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful”

My brother, Your Excellency Dr. Julius Maada Bio,

President of the Republic of Sierra Leone

Ladies and gentlemen,

At the outset, I would like to welcome His Excellency Dr. Julius Maada Bio to his second home, Egypt, and laud the historical, brotherly relations that bind our countries and our brotherly peoples. These relations have evolved into constructive cooperation since the 1960s. I hope His Excellency enjoys a pleasant stay and a productive visit.

Today, we held constructive bilateral discussions, which demonstrated our mutual commitment to forging closer cooperation between our countries, thereby realizing our aspirations to leverage our full potential to drive the development of our peoples.

During our talks, we concurred about the need to strengthen cooperation in capacity-building across an array of domains, notably in agriculture and irrigation; infrastructure; fisheries and food security.

We also underscored the importance of further advancing economic and investment relations at a faster pace.

Our discussions also touched on Sierra Leone’s essential role, as chair of the AU’s Committee of Ten (C-10), concerned with promoting Africa’s unified stance with regard to the expansion and reform of the UN Security Council. We underscored our adherence to the common African position, grounded in the “Ezulwini Consensus” and the “Sirte Declaration”. We stressed the importance of rectifying Africa’s current position, stressing the crucial necessity to secure its rightful permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
During my meeting with H.E. the President of Sierra Leone, I affirmed the critical need to maintain the cohesion of the Committee of Ten and its continued role, which represents the first line of defense for the common African positon.

Our talks also focused on regional issues of mutual concern, primarily the situations in West Africa and Sahel region. I confirmed Egypt’s unwavering commitment to reinforcing security and stability in the Sahel region, and highlighted the urgency to adopt a comprehensive approach to combating terrorism. This approach shall encompass, not only military solutions, but also address the economic and social root-causes of terrorism.

Developments in the Horn of Africa region were also on the table today. We agreed on the imperative to respect the sovereignty of nations and exert all efforts to safeguard stability in this vital part of our African continent. The Nile Water dossier was covered in our discussions as well. I reiterated the existential importance of this issue to Egypt, underlining the need to foster consensus among Nile Basin countries, in a manner that secures the shared interests of our peoples.

We reviewed the latest developments in the Gaza Strip, and the urgent need for a permanent and sustainable ceasefire, the resumption of dialogue and the return to negotiations so as to achieve a just and enduring peace for the Palestinian cause, based on the two-state solution and ensuring the protection of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. Those include the establishment of their independent state along the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

We agreed to continue coordination and consultations between Cairo and Freetown regarding various issues of common interest.
My brother, Your Excellency Dr. Julius Maada Bio,

I was pleased to meet with you today and look forward to cultivating closer cooperation between our countries for the shared benefit of our peoples and our African continent. I wish Sierra Leone and its people all goodness, stability and prosperity. Once again, I welcome you and your delegation to your second home Egypt.