& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Sierra Leone president to arrive Oct 21

Rafiq Hasan
Dhaka and Freetown will explore the possibility ofstrengthenlngbilateral ties through investment and cooperation in various fields during the upcoming visit of Sierra Leone's President Ahmad Tajen Kabbah.
The president of the war-ravaged West African country is expected to arrive on October 21 on a three-day official visit, according to sources in the Ministry ofForeign Affairs.
To be die first ever visit by aSierra Leone president Kabbah will come here on his way home from Kuala Lumpur after attending the OIC summit.
President Kabbah will meet Bangladeshi leaders and hold official talks to strengthen bilateral tics, the sources said. Both sides are also expected to discuss the establishment of permanent diplomatic relations.
According to sources, Sierra Leone is expecting investment from Bangladesh, mainly in the garments sector for the purpose of utilising Sierra Leone's facility of duty and quota free access to the US market.
Under the Trade and Development Agreement of 2000, the US permits duty and quota free access of garment from 72 African and Pacific nations, including Sierra Leone.
President Kabbah may also seek further assistance in the reconstruction of infrastructure damaged during his nation's long civil war. Sierra Leone also needs assistance setting up key social and administrative institutions devastated by the war.
The ties between Dhaka and Freetown were forged when Bangladesh took part in UN peacekeeping operations in Sierra Leone around five years ago.
Troops from Bangladesh, numbering as many as 5,000 at any one time, were deployed to maintain law and order in the war-ravaged country. Around 2,000 Bangladeshi troops are still on active duty in Sierra Leone.
The peace-keeping forces took part in the construction of some key civil and military installations in Sierra Leone. Bangladeshi troops also provided emergency healthcare services to the local people. Bangladesh thus has a very positive image in Sierra Leone.
Ahmed Tajen Kabbah led the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) to victory in presidential and parliamentary elections in May 2002. The UN declared the elections free, fair and violence free.
This was the second time that Kabbah was elected president. He was elected president in March 1996 in the first multi-party elections in
Sierra Leone's 23 years history, but was overthrown by a military coup in May 1997.
President Kabbah was restored to power nine months later when the rebel military junta was removed by troops of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and loyal civilian and military forces.
Before his election as president, Ahmad Tajen Kabbah had a long and distinguished career as civil servant both at national and international levels. He served as deputy chief of the West Africa division of UNDP in New York.