By Abubakarr Bah, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
President Bio speaking at the UN
“Sierra Leone’s proactive participation at the United Nations Security Council is the legacy we will bequeath –a principled and respected Sierra Leone on the global stage,” says His Excellency the President Brig. (Rtd.) Dr Julius Maada Bio at the recent State Opening of Parliament of the Republic of Sierra Leone. This statement by the First Gentleman of our nation sums up the eulogy I was thinking of writing all this while on the massive gains the Bio Administration has made, especially at the global stage, since he assumed the presidency of our nation six years ago.
Since 2018, the Bio administration’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation’s has yielded positive impacts for Sierra Leone on its foreign policies for which every Sierra Leonean irrespective of political affiliation should be proud.
After 53 years, Sierra Leone, in 2023, made a spectacular comeback to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) as non-permanent member with 188 countries unanimously voting for Sierra Leone. This did not come on a silver platter, but due to the remarkable achievements of the Bio administration, ranging from several historical legislative reforms, the astronomical leap in independent local and international governance ratings and indexes, including the World Peace Index, the Mo Ibrahim Index, the World Press Freedom Index, the U.S Government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Scorecard, the Transparency International index, as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation’s pragmatic and measured diplomatic relations abroad.
Following his re-election in 2023, His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio reassigned Hon. Alhaji Timothy Musa Kabba to serve as Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MFAIC) after exceling at the Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources. Within a year, through the directives of His Excellency President Dr. Julius Maada Bio, the multi-lingual Hon. Alhaji Tomothy Kabba as Foreign Minister accelerated the country’s diplomatic relations at the global stage.
Under Alhaji Kabba as Minister of the MFAIC, Sierra Leone, in February this year, got elected to serve the African Union Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) for the 2024-2026 term. Incidentally, after serving the UNSC for 7 months as non-permanent member, Sierra Leone has been elected to serve as President of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) throughout the month of August.
The United Nations Security Council is the most potent body in charge of ensuring global peace and security. It is endowed with the power to pass binding resolutions on Member States. As a transformative leader, His Excellency President Dr. Julius Maada Bio’s objective is to foster productive dialogue among parties, collectively working with Member States at the UNSC to tackle other global challenges to ensure a peaceful and sustainable resolution of conflict in Palestine, Gaza, Sudan, the Sahel, Ukraine, among others.
The election of Sierra Leone to the AUPSC and the UNSC as non-permanent member and President of the UNSC for the month of August to preside in fostering peace and security in Africa and the world at large reflects the recognition of President Julius Maada Bio’s legacy-based leadership and the country’s growing influence and respect it has earned in the African continent and the world at large.
The country’s honour was globally manifested at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on January 3, 2024, when Dr. Michael Kanu, Sierra Leone’s Permanent Representative to the U.N, proudly installed Sierra Leone’s flag at the UNSC Chamber, marking a return of our country back to the UNSC after over half a century.
This is a huge achievement for our country and we should be proud of this milestone because our country, which witnessed 11 years atrocious civil war 22 years ago, is now presiding over meetings and activities both at the African Union and the United Nations geared towards maintaining international peace and security.
On the eve of assuming the presidency at the UNSC for the month of August, President Bio stated on his X page that Sierra Leone will work closely with the P5 and regional groups to vigorously pursue Security Council reforms for the inclusive, equitable, and permanent representation of the voices of Africa’s 1.2 billion people. The President emphasized that there is need to “right this historical injustice” at the UNSC, with the objective of significantly advancing the urgent need for reforms within the United Nations Security Council. This will provide equitable, inclusive and permanent representation for Africa, which has a population of 1.2 billion people living on the continent.
With all these, I cannot agree more with the President when he said at the last State Opening of Parliament that “Sierra Leone continues to progressively shape and advance its foreign policy in line with global realities and regional developments while promoting national interest.” As the world today is a global village, the stage at which Sierra Leone has taken (the highest levels of both the African Union and the United Nations) would definitely bring huge gains or goodies for the country, such as respectability, economic, social and cultural benefits, among others. For instance, just after Sierra Leone got elected at the UNSC, countries like Morocco and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia -two mighty economic hubs in the Middle East- have opened their embassies in Freetown.
The interaction between Sierra Leone and the Russian Federation (that closed its embassy over three decades ago) and South Korea at the UNSC have yielded great dividend, and the two UNSC member countries are on the verge of opening their embassies in Freetown by the end of this year.
Just as Sierra Leone benefited from China greatly over half a century ago, in terms of infrastructural developments like the construction of Youyi Building and the Siaka Stevens Stadium in the 1970s due to the country’s presence at the UNSC as a non-permanent member, Sierra Leone’s return to the helm of affairs at the United Nations Security Council will bring in huge benefits to the country’s socio-economic agenda.
Since 53 years ago, when the country last tasted this feat, the astute leadership of His Excellency President Dr. Julius Maada Bio will see the country benefit hugely, as the Bio administration prioritizes the promotion of economic diplomacy which involves; wooing trade opportunities, attracting foreign direct investment, boosting tourism, and building Sierra Leone’s image globally. The good thing is, the President has a very fine diplomatic team around him, led by the young and industrious Hon. Alhaji Timothy Kabba, to help him push and promote his diplomatic and foreign policy abroad.
President Bio’s government has achieved a lot for the people and country of Sierra Leone. His feet are on the acceleration pedal to continue to move this country forward. One of the landmark achievements that would be catalogued as goodies of the Bio Presidency by historians, political and social commentators for many years to come is President Bio’s huge impact on Foreign Policy.