By Hawa Georgette Tucker, Information Attaché
Sierra Leone Embassy, Ankara Turkey
FREETOWN, Oct. 28. (232News) –His Excellency Mohamed Hassan Kaisamba recently hosted the Minister of Trade and Industry, and the Petroleum Directorate in Turkey as the head of the Sierra Leone delegation, attending the just concluded Africa-Turkey Business Forum 111 on 21st – 22nd October 2021.
This year’s event was attended by at least 38 thirty- eight Ministers of Trade from all over Africa. Addressing the well-attended international meeting, the Minister of Trade and Industry Government of Sierra Leone, Dr. Edward Hinga Sandy expressed profound gratitude to his Colleague Minister of Trade of Turkey for the invitation extended to him and his delegation to participate at this all important event. In his remarks he outlined the importance and significant growth in the bilateral relationships between the two countries in Economic, Trade and Investment. He informed the gathering that, TURKEY companies operate in critical sectors in Sierra Leone including Energy, Transportation, Construction, Agriculture and Manufacturing and Commerce. He further stressed that, today more Sierra Leoneans travel to Turkey for business. Minister Hinga Sandy requested from His colleague Turkish Trade Minister to support Sierra Leone in addressing the Logistics supply chain challenges through special Freight rates for key products imported from Turkey namely Clinker, Cement, Iron Rods and Wheat. Minister Sandy extended invitation to the Turkish Private Sector to take advantage of the opportunities and potential Sierra Leone Possesses favorable incentives that government offers to investors. In conclusion, he called for trade date and statics information sharing as this builds for trust and openness.
In the sidewalks of the Turkey-Africa III Economic and Business Forum, H E Mohamed Kaisamba and the Sierra Leone petroleum Directorate, held very successful bilateral discussions with officials of the Turkish Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (MENR).
The Petroleum Directorate of Sierra Leone (PDSL) delegation was headed by its Director General Mr.Foday Mansaray, accompanied by the Director of Finance Mr. Zainudeen Karim and Head of Technical Ahmed Tejan Bah. The Turkish side was led by Dr. Ozturk Selvitop, Director General of Foreign Relations for Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources at the third Turkey-Africa Economic and Business Forum in Istanbul.
Addressing the high powered meeting, Ambassador Kaisamba thanked His Excellency the President Dr. Julius Maada Bio and His Excellency Recep Erdogan for creating the enabling environment, which made the face to face meeting between Petroleum Directorate of Sierra Leone PDSL and Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, possible. The Ambassador attributed this success to the growing strength of the Sierra Leone-Turkey bilateral relations.
He also reiterated the importance of the Republic of Turkey as a Geopartner and that strengthening trade relationship between the two countries is of utmost priority.
Ambassador Kaisamba stated that he and his team are working diligently to further strengthen the bilateral relationship between the two great nations.
In his remarks, The Director General of the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resource Dr. Ozturk Selvitop, welcomed the delegation from Sierra Leone and emphasized the need to look for possible business opportunities to strengthen the existing bilateral relationships between the two countries.
In his presentation the Director General of Petroleum Directorate of Sierra Leone, Mr. Foday Mansaray outlined the mission and vision of the Petroleum Directorate of Sierra Leone, the exploration history for oil and gas and structure of Petroleum Directorate of Sierra Leone.
The Director General of PDSL also highlighted Sierra Leone’s favorable regulatory and fiscal policies when compared to other oil and gas nations across the globe.
The outstanding and informative presentation highlighted the fact that Sierra Leone has shown comparably better statistics in drilling successful exploratory wells when compared to countries in the same stage of operations.
During the presentation, Director General Mansaray revealed that there are numerous world-class prospects already identified by the Directorate and that the Republic of Turkey is a reliable and key strategic partner in unlocking these potentials and huge prospects.
In his concluding statement the Director General emphasized the political stability, the existence of working petroleum and the removal of all red tapes to the establishing a company in Sierra Leone making it an attractive destination for investment in oil and gas exploration. Director General Mansaray also stated that this partnership in the oil and gas sector will enhance Turkey’s and Sierra Leone’s Energy independence and security.
In his response, the Director General of Foreign Relations at MENR applauded the presentation from the Director General and outlined the Turkish Government’s policy with respect to exploration for oil and gas. He also requested that the Petroleum Directorate makes available all data and information that useful in the exploration process to be evaluated to guide their decision-making process for entering Sierra Leone’s oil and gas space. He also stressed that both parties should be geared up to make follow-ups to strengthen the engagements.
