President of Sierra Leone, Julius Maada Bio. Source: Afrikanheroes

HÀ NỘI – The President of Sierra Leone, Julius Maada Bio, and his spouse will pay an official visit to Vietnam from March 14 – 20.

The visit, which is made at the invitation of President Nguyễn Xuân Phúc and his spouse, is expected to be a new step forward in the development of ties between Việt Nam and the West African country.

The visit, which is prior to the occasion of the 40th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations (June 24,1982-2022), has a historical meaning in the Việt Nam-Sierra Leone ties as it will be the first by a head of State of one country to the other.

Since Việt Nam and Sierra Leone set up their diplomatic relations on June 24, 1982, the two sides have maintained good political relations. Việt Nam attaches importance to fostering ties with African countries, including Sierra Leone. Meanwhile, Sierra Leone supported Việt Nam's candidacy for the UNESCO Executive Council (2015-2019), the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC in 2016-2018 tenure), and the United Nations Security Council (2020-2021).

The two countries have engaged in economic cooperation and worked together in some other fields. In 2020, two-way trade reached US$49.26 million, up more than 200 percent from the US$17 million recorded in 2018, with Việt Nam’s overwhelming exports of $47 million.

Sierra Leone is operating one project in marketing and human resources management in Việt Nam with an investment of $33,185. Việt Nam has yet to run any project in Sierra Leone. VNS