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Sierra Leone - Foreign Relations

The primary responsibility of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (and accredited Missions) is to pursue Sierra Leone’s foreign policy objectives as enshrined in Chapter II, Section 10 of the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone and as the Government may dictate. Like all fledging independent states, Sierra Leone had no Foreign Service on the 27th of April 1961 when the National flag was unfurled. The rudiments of an external relations mechanism had begun to emerge, however, with plans being formulated to attain the semblance of a Ministry of External Affairs.

Foremost among these was the selection and training of the personnel to form the nucleus of the new Ministry that would be responsible for conducting the nation’s external relations. In a two-pronged approach, the pre-independence government had offered a range of scholarships to serving civil servants for specialized training as successors to the colonial administrators. Some of these were to be absorbed into the external service later.

At independence, Sierra Leone acceded to the Agreements which had been contracted on her behalf by the colonial power. At that initial stage, diplomatic ties with Cuba and other communist states like North Korea were not even on the cards. It was also standard Commonwealth practice for Britain to represent the interests of newly independent members where they had no Embassies or High Commissions. Policies inconsistent with British Policy could hardly be expected to be articulated in such circumstances.

By 1971, it was clear that the initial pronouncement of “An Open Door Policy and Friendliness towards All Nations” was inadequate to address the complex association of independent states of which the Republican Sierra Leone was now a full member. The challenges were enormous. The cold war was hot; the iron curtain firm and unyielding; and nuclear arms threatened the antagonists with self-destruction. In this context, Sierra Leone joined the Afro-Asians to occupy a middle ground between both blocks and in doing so consolidated her identity among like minds. She became openly anti-colonialist, anti-apartheid, more visibly independent and non-aligned. The Commonwealth bond was flexible enough to accommodate the intrinsic identity and outlook of its members.

The end of apartheid, the ebbing of the colonial tide and the dismissal of nuclear war as a geopolitical option provided space for new policy options that Sierra Leone could not readily convert in view of the civil war that coincided with this period of global détente and would occupy the entire focus of its foreign policy actions. Henceforth, bilateral and multilateral trade and aid would guide the direction of Sierra Leone’s foreign policy but these opportunities could not be optimized during the period of war instability and uncertainty.

Sierra Leone has not been able to fully maximize the potential benefits of the utility of diplomacy in the attainment of its development aspirations and on the same token, has not fully evolved its foreign policy to be strategically aligned with development objectives and priorities. Despite some impressive strides since independence, the country’s Foreign Service, like the wider public service, has not delivered as it should for the citizenry of this nation. While it has hitherto stood out in international decision-making processes, the last time Sierra Leone served on the UN Security Council was over four decades ago in 1971.

Sierra Leone borders only two other countries, Guinea (405 miles) on the north and east and Liberia (190 miles), also on the east and on the south. The present-day boundary with Guinea was determined largely by agreements between France and Great Britain between 1882 and 1895 that sought to delineate the spheres of interest of the two colonial powers in the area during the so-called scramble for Africa of the late 1800s. French military action at the end of the century and in the early 1900s against ethnic groups in territory then claimed by Liberia adjacent to southeastern Sierra Leone culminated in various territorial readjustments. This section of the Sierra Leone-Guinea border was agreed upon in 1911 and demarcated in 1913.

A border with Liberia was initially agreed upon between Great Britain and independent Liberia in 1885. The agreement set the Mano River as the dividing line in the western part of the two territories and projected a line from the river farther inland to form the rest of the boundary. Adjustments were subsequently made in 1903, 1911, and 1930 that resulted in the present-day border. The 1911 convention included a substantial mutual exchange of territory that added the eastern extension of Kailahun District to Sierra Leone.

Sierra Leone has maintained cordial relations with the West, in particular with the United Kingdom. It also maintains diplomatic relations with China, Libya, Cuba, and Iran. Sierra Leone is a member of the UN and its specialized agencies, the Commonwealth, the African Union (AU), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Development Bank (AFDB), the Mano River Union (MRU), the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).

Sierra Leone is a member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). With Liberia and Guinea, it formed the Mano River Union (MRU) customs union, primarily designed to implement development projects and promote regional economic integration. Cote dIvoire joined in May 2008. The MRU has been largely inactive because of domestic problems and internal and cross-border conflicts in all three countries. The future of the MRU depends on the ability of its members to deal with the fallout from these internal and regional problems, as well as adequately fund the union to carry out sub-regional activities.

In June 2010, the Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a 3-year successor arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) for Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone’s economic policy has generally shifted from post-conflict stabilization to poverty-reduction efforts, including good governance and fighting corruption; job creation; and food security.

Sierra Leone continues to rely on significant amounts of foreign assistance, principally from multilateral donors. The largest bilateral donors are the United Kingdom and the European Union; others include the United States, Italy, and Germany.