Sierra Leone has revealed plans to open an Embassy in Jerusalem. Jerusalem is at the heart of the dispute between Israel and Palestine, with both sides claiming exclusive ownership of it.
The Times of Israel, a multi-language online newspaper, reported on Friday that President Julius Maada Bio confirmed his government’s intention to open embassy in the city in a telephone conversation with the Jewish State’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen.
Reports say His Excellency President Dr. Julius Maada Bio and Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen spoke on Thursday.
“They discussed the warm relations between both countries that date back to 1961 when Sierra Leone gained independence. As part of efforts to strengthen the relationship between the two nations, His Excellency President Bio expressed his government’s readiness to establish an Embassy of Sierra Leone in Jerusalem, the capital of the State of Israel,” the report cited a statement attributed to the Israeli government.
It quoted Mr Cohen saying that he “was pleased to hear from the president of Sierra Leone of his intentions” to open an embassy in Jerusalem.
“We continue to put Jerusalem, our eternal capital, at the head of the diplomatic program of the State of Israel,” Coehn stated.
A post from official twitter handle of State House in Freetown on Thursday confirmed the telephone conversation between President Bio and the Israeli Foreign Minister. A follow-up tweet on Friday announced the appointment of international investment banker Mikhael Jaime Shamis Mezrahi by President Bio as special envoy to Jerusalem “to activate and advance plans towards implementing the shared vision for the Sierra Leone—Israel partnership.”
Israel’s interests in Sierra Leone are currently represented by its Ambassador in Ghana.
Israel considers Jerusalem to be its capital, including East Jerusalem, which it annexed in 1980. The move has not been recognized by most of the international community, which says the final borders of the city should be decided in negotiations with the Palestinians.
Israel and Sierra Leone established diplomatic ties in 1961, but they were suspended in 1973 — along with several other African nations — following the Fourth Arab-Israeli War, known as Yom Kippur War by the Israelis and the Ramadan War by Arabs.
