Sierra Leone’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hon. Dr. Ebun Jusu has praised Sierra Leone’s multi-accredited Envoy to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Ambassador Andrew Bangali and his officers for their contributions in transforming the country into a shining example in Addis Ababa, the hub of international diplomacy in Africa.
The commendation came on Tuesday, 9th April 2013 when she visited the Chancery and held a meeting with all the home-based staffers.
The Deputy Foreign Minister (flanked on the left by Ambassador Bangali and on the right by Mr. Amadu Koroma, Sierra Leone’s Deputy Chief of Mission at the embassy in Ethiopia) said that she felt impressed after attending the African Union’s Executive Council Fourteenth Extraordinary Session and before the end of the meeting the Addis Ababa Mission put out a detailed and comprehensive press release about the confab and her attendance.
“I felt honoured when I visited the Embassy as a Sierra Leonean,” she said.
Hon. Jusu pledged her support for the construction of the Mission’s complex, adding that paying rents for the Ambassador’s residence and Chancery is an expensive venture.
She further requested Ambassador Bangali to roll out the Agenda for Prosperity embarked upon by His Excellency the President, Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma in his second term of office more explicitly to the International Community and International Non-Governmental Organizations based in Ethiopia.
The Prosperity Agenda is the turning point for growth, development and transformation of Sierra Leone after years of war and political instability thus defining the country’s development path from 2013-2017.
The erudite Deputy Foreign Minister also spoke about economic diplomacy in a bid to woo Ethiopian investors to Sierra Leone as the latter is the new destination for business moguls in the world.
Responding, Sierra Leone’s emissary to Addis Ababa, Ambassador Andrew Bangali said Hon. Jusu had indicated to him some time ago about her desire to visit Addis Ababa but the opportunity presented itself during the Executive Council Fourteenth Extraordinary Session.
Ambassador Bangali said he has a team of committed officers, adding that he needs two more additional staffers to boost the current staff strength in the Embassy in order to service the increasing number of meetings at the African Union Commission and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa or ECA.
After 41 years, he said: “We have started constructing an Embassy complex in Ethiopia and the funding was secured through the intervention of the President His Excellency Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma, the complex consists of three buildings- the Chancery, the Ambassador’s residence and a Presidential VIP suite.”
Ambassador Bangali who also doubles as the Vice Dean of the Group of ECOWAS Ambassadors pointed out that prior to his posting here, Sierra Leone’s profile at both the African Union Commission and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa left a lot to be desired.
That state of affairs, he said, has changed as Sierra Leone is now consulted on a wide range of issues and boasts of a Commissioner for Social Affairs, the first time a Sierra Leonean is holding an elective position in the African Union Commission.
He added that he has a very committed team that is supportive of each other.
The duo also exchanged views, inter alia, on the perennial problem of vehicles in the Embassy and the way forward since this is the Deputy Minister’s debut visit to the political capital of Africa, Addis Ababa.
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