President Bio Commissions Sierra Leone’s First Foreign Service Academy

President Julius Maada Bio on Thursday, January 5, 2023, officially commissioned Sierra Leone’s first Foreign Service Academy in Freetown supported by the People’s Republic of China. 

The multi-million dollar Foreign Service academy is a four floors building above ground and one underground, with a total land area of 3,928 square meters. 

During the commissioning, President Bio conveyed that the Foreign Service Academy, which is also the first within the Mano River Region, will enable the nation to solidify its efforts in promoting the country’s foreign policy and strengthening cooperation with regional and international partners. 

Moving forward he expressed his gratitude to President Xi Jinping, for his government’s generosity and commitment to supporting Sierra Leone’s sustainable development and socioeconomic transformation. He stated that the two countries enjoy a long-standing friendship built on mutual respect, trust and benefit over the past 5 decades. 

“We will focus on upskilling and reskilling the existing foreign service workforce through the Foreign Service Academy. Also, the Academy will recruit and train a dedicated cadre of professional career diplomats that will be globally competitive in our ever-changing world,” said President Bio.

Chinese Ambassador to Sierra Leone, His Excellency Wang Qing thanked President Bio for accepting his letter of credence and expressed how happy he was to see that the relentless efforts of the two countries had led to the construction and handing over of the building as a Christmas and New Year gift from the People’s Republic of China to Sierra Leone.

“Capacity building is essential to building our nations. I hope and believe that this academy will become Sierra Leone’s cradle of diplomats, with more career diplomats in this country and in Africa,” said Amb. Qing.