By Saio Marrah
In commemoration of 60th Anniversary of friendship between South Korea and Sierra Leone, the former, has opened its new honorary Consulate in Freetown, in further efforts to deepen ties.
The consulate is at Wilkinson Road in Freetown where the ceremony to mark its opening took place on Wednesday 30th November, 2022.
South Korea’s new honorary consul is a businessman in Sierra Leone, Mahesh C. Nandwani.
In his statement, South Korea’s Ambassador to Sierra Leone, Kim Youngchae, said the establishment of the new office will further deepen the already existing bilateral friendship between both nations and build a road map for the creation of factories in Sierra Leone.
Youngchae, said as a country they have the intention to increase their trade and investment with Sierra Leone.
He however cautioned the new consul to be politically neutral, and with an unblemished record.
The ambassador said during his Embassy’s internal processing together with the Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs over the Korean Government’s appointing of a new honorary consul, Nandwani was proven to be an excellent candidate, with a good track record and having served in different capacities for the Korean community in Sierra Leone.
After his oath taking, Nandwani, thanked the Korean Government for bestowing confidence and trust on him. He told the gathering: “I looked in the mirror this morning, I contemplated, how a trader from Sani Abacha Street has joined members of the diplomatic world as a honorary consul to the Republic in Sierra Leone?”
He promised to uphold the responsibilities associated with the consular office with due care and integrity.
Commenting on the celebration of the 60 anniversary between Sierra Leone and South Korean, he said the desire to strengthen the bilateral relationship between the two nations will remain strong.
“If we reflect on the achievements made so far including more recently the construction of the new city hall building, this is a renewed motivation to collaborate on more projects in the future, “the new consul affirmed.
He promised to promote the values, culture and vision of citizens of both countries and work towards increasing the socio- economic cooperation between Sierra Leone and South Korea.
Nandwani said the universal principle of fairness; honesty and equality will be at the centre of his stewardship during his tenure of office.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Professor David Francis, disclosed that the President of Korean International Cooperation Agency, representing the president of South Korea, had exchanged formal congratulatory letters of the 60th Anniversary of friendship between the two nations, with President Julius Maada Bio.
He said when he assumed office as foreign minister, he wanted to bring credibility to the honorary consular role by transforming and making it representational, in light of its own challenges.
He said Sierra Leone’s representatives abroad and those representing the country’s friends and partners within should be credible, and registered his trust in the new South Korean consul.
Prof. Francis was also hopeful that through the support of the consul, the government of Sierra Leone would expect credible representatives from the Korean business community, including successful entrepreneurs who will step forward to support Sierra Leone.
He recalled how 70 years ago Korea was an under-developed nation that has now become one of the most developed countries on earth.
Prof. Francis said Sierra Leone is focusing on investing on human capital development, and drew reference to Korea’s lack of strategic mineral resources except investing in its people.
He hoped Sierra Leone, with focus on human capital, and the expected arrival of Korean investors, will achieve middle- income status, thereby following what he said is the Korean example.
He also noted that as Sierra Leone is bidding for membership in the non- permanent seat at the UN Security Council for 2024-2025.
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