State House, Freetown – Pamela Rosemarie Coke-Hamilton, Executive Director of the International Trade Centre (ITC), recently visited Sierra Leone's President Julius Maada Bio. During her visit, she announced ITC’s intention to open a permanent office in Freetown, a first for the organization in its 60-year history.
The meeting was facilitated by Ibrahim Alpha Sesay, Minister of Trade and Industry. He expressed gratitude to President Bio for accommodating the meeting on short notice and emphasized ITC’s long-standing partnership with Sierra Leone. "ITC has supported critical projects in the country for over three decades," he noted.
Minister Sesay also highlighted that ITC has been instrumental in mobilizing resources and providing technical support to member countries like Sierra Leone. The Executive Director’s visit coincided with the launch of 'Empowering Youth through Digital Technologies in Sierra Leone,' a project aimed at economic growth and job creation through enhanced youth participation in the digital economy.
Pamela Coke-Hamilton praised President Bio's leadership, particularly his Five Game Changers initiative. She reiterated ITC’s commitment to collaborating with the government on green environment projects and climate-smart agriculture. "This project is essential to creating long-term benefits for Sierra Leone," she said.
President Julius Maada Bio welcomed the ITC delegation and commended Coke-Hamilton's decision to establish an office in Sierra Leone. He described human capital development as central to his government's agenda and cited positive outcomes from initiatives like Free Quality Education.
"We are committed to ensuring that our people receive fit-for-purpose education because no country can develop without an educated population," President Bio stated.
He also discussed food security as vital for national development, mentioning partnerships like Feed Salone aimed at boosting agricultural productivity. "We are partnering with strong allies like ITC to transform agriculture and achieve food security," he added.
President Bio further acknowledged First Lady Dr. Fatima Maada Bio's role in empowering women and children through initiatives such as ending early child marriage and supporting teenage girls' education.
In conclusion, President Bio expressed optimism about enhancing value addition in agriculture and mineral resources through collaboration with ITC, aiming for economic transformation.
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