Sierra Leone leader visits Guinea

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) - Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio arrived in Guinea’s capital Monday for a working trip, marking the first official visit of a head of state to the country since the army took power there last month.

He was welcomed at Conakry airport by Guinea’s interim President Mamadi Doumbouya and members of the National Committee for Rally and Development (CNRD) set up by the junta, according to the presidency.

The visit is the first by a head of state since the army deposed President Alpha Conde on Sept. 5.

The two heads of state held a one-on-one meeting at the airport's lounge before heading to a hotel in the northern suburbs of Conakry, where they were scheduled to discuss security and ways of strengthening cooperation.

“This visit is part of strengthening of traditional ties between our two peoples and cooperation agreements between Conakry and Freetown. We will talk about security and economic cooperation between Guinea and Sierra Leone,” Bio told reporters upon his arrival.

Sierra Leone has had a longstanding territorial dispute with Guinea over the diamond-rich Yenga border region.

Bio has asked the regional bloc the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to intervene in the conflict, complaining of “repeated incursions” by Guinean troops into his territory in Yenga.

The row over its ownership started following Sierra Leone's civil war in 2002, after Yenga was used as a base for Guinean troops which served among foreign intervention forces in the 11-year civil war.

In March 2021, the authorities of the two countries met to find a definitive solution to the dispute, but it is yet to be resolved.