The President of the Republic of Sierra Leone and Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State, His Excellency Retired Brigadier Julius Maada Bio, has, during a visit to President John Dramani Mahama of the Republic of Ghana, expressed solidarity following terrible flooding in some parts of the country, predominantly in Accra.
It was a high-level diplomatic engagement between the two leaders, held at the Jubilee Lounge, and it covered the impact of the disaster.
President Bio, on behalf of his government and the people of Sierra Leone, and ECOWAS, conveyed condolences to the people of Ghana over the disaster.
Together with his colleague, the President of Ghana discussed pertinent issues related to joint climate resilience, humanitarian aid, and disaster response strategies.
He assured his Ghanaian counterpart that Sierra Leone and the wider ECOWAS community were standing by Ghana during this difficult period.
In West Africa, when one nation suffers, all others feel the pain, so as a region, we must remain committed, responsible, and focused, H.E. Bio stated.
President John Dramani Mahama of Ghana detailed the bewildering scale of the disaster, noting that torrential downpours have displaced about 48,000 people, recorded twelve deaths, with a total of seven people unaccounted for.
On the issue of disaster management, both leaders discussed actionable steps for cross-border cooperation in infrastructure planning, climate resilience, and emergency humanitarian relief, as some other nations, aside from Ghana, face similar situations.
In attendance were officials from the Government of Ghana and the Government of Sierra Leone, including Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Musa Kabbah, former Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Hon. Sidie Tunis, and High Commissioner Mohamed Hassan Kaisamba of the Sierra Leone High Commission in Ghana.
On another note, President Julius Maada Bio briefed President Mahama about the ECOWAS Mid-year Summit, which will be hosted in Lungi, Sierra Leone, from the 12th to the 19th of July this year.
It aims to bring together leaders who will discuss and debate issues of the region that require urgent attention.
