President Nikos Christodoulides on Thursday welcomed Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio to the presidential palace, marking the first ever visit of a Sierra Leonean president to the island.

The pair discussed bilateral relations and multilateral cooperation, as well as relations between Sierra Leone and the European Union, developments on the Cyprus problem, as well as what the government described as “issues of regional interest”.

Later, during a visit to the Green Line, Christodoulides said Bio’s visit was “of particular importance”, and that the Sierra Leonean delegation had “requested assistance and the transfer of know-how from the Republic of Cyprus in the fields of education, agriculture, fisheries, and shipping”.

He also said he had discussed diplomatic relations with Bio, and lamented that at present, “Cyprus does not have enough diplomatic missions”, and that the island “does not have diplomatic representation in Africa”.

“It is a continent which interests us particularly because of our national issue, and it was for this reason that very recently, the foreign minister [Constantinos Kombos] visited a number of African countries,” he said.

In addition, he made reference to “the role which the Republic of Cyprus can play within the European Union, so as to strengthen” Sierra Leone and countries like this.

He spoke about the matter of migration, and said he will “convey” the points made by Bio in the pair’s discussion on the matter to leaders of other EU member states.

“This particular African country has a population of which young people make up more than 70 per cent, a significant number who are looking for opportunities outside their country and are migrating. Therefore, there is a need for the EU to support these countries to address the root causes which lead these young people to leave their countries,” he said.

As such, he added, the EU must “invest financially so that the conditions are created in these countries, so that people … remain in their countries”.

The day’s meetings had begun with private talks between the two presidents, followed by extended talks between the Cypriot and Sierra Leonean delegations, and the signing of memoranda of understanding.

Those memoranda included a memorandum for “political consultations” between the two countries’ foreign ministries with the aim of “further strengthening bilateral relations”, as well as a memorandum signed by the two countries’ education ministries with the aim of “promoting cooperation between higher education institutions” in the two countries.

In addition, a memorandum was signed by the Cypriot education ministry and the Sierra Leonean sports ministry, aiming to “define a common framework for action and cooperation on issues related to sports initiatives and activities”.

After those meetings, Christodoulides and Bio travelled to Nicosia’s old town for the Green Line tour,

They then retuned to the presidential palace, where a lunch was held in Bio’s honour.