New Delhi, March 24 (IANS) India on Tuesday sent 1,000 metric tonnes of rice to Sierra Leone for supporting its school midday meal scheme. The gesture reinforces India's commitment to enhance cooperation with countries in the Global South and backing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In a post on X, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated, "Global South partnership in action ! India has sent 1,000 metric tonnes of rice today to support Sierra Leone’s school midday meal scheme. The gesture is in keeping with India’s commitment to enhance cooperation with countries in the Global South and to support the Sustainable Development Goals."
In March last year, India and Sierra Leone held the second round of Foreign Office Consultations (FoC) in New Delhi and reviewed bilateral ties, covering all sectors, including trade, investment, health and pharmaceuticals, education and people-to-people exchanges.
Sevala Naik Mude, Additional Secretary, MEA, and Alan CE Logan, Director General, Sierra Leone's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, co-chaired the meeting.
In a statement, the MEA stated, "India has pledged to continue supporting Sierra Leone in capacity building in various fields and building the development partnership further. Both sides noted with satisfaction the progress made on India Stack, following the signing of a MoU on ‘Cooperation in the field of sharing successful digital solutions implemented at population scale for digital transformation’ and discussed next steps for implementation in this space."
"Both sides also agreed to further deepen and diversify bilateral ties in key areas of contemporary relevance, defence cooperation, energy development and development cooperation," it added.
During the meeting, the two sides held discussions and exchanged perspectives on key issues of regional and global importance. The officials of India and Sierra Leone discussed cooperation in multilateral organisations, including the United Nations.
Sierra Leone agreed to consider support to India’s candidature for United Nations Security Council (UNSC) non-permanent seat for the year 2028-29. Sierra Leone also agreed to expedite the process of approval from its Government to sign the Agreement of International Solar Alliance (ISA) and joining the Global Biofeuls Alliance, according to MEA statement.
India and Sierra Leone enjoy cordial and warm ties based on common values and shared vision which dates back to almost six decades. India is committed to being a reliable partner of Sierra Leone in its development journey through soft loans, scholarships, and capacity building, according to MEA statement. The two nations also cooperate at the United Nations and other multilateral fora.
--IANS
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