As part of his trade and investment drive, the Sierra Leone Ambassador to Belgium, HE Samuel Musa, has held a meeting with Orestis Kavalakis the Secretary-General, responsible for Public-Private Investments in Greece.
Kavalakis disclosed that they focus on strategic investment, which has different categories and incentives, depending on the category and the size of investments. The Secretary-General maintained that they blend procedures for investments with good incentives to attract more investment for internal purposes, but were willing to discuss investments in Sierra Leone.
Orestis Kavalakis also stated that building a strategic and commercial relationship between two countries was pivotal, and the two countries should join forces for mutual benefit.
Kavalakis added that his country was trying to overcome a longstanding economic crisis, but over the years the government has proved to be “one of the most steady and business-friendly governments in the whole Europe, as they are starting to see many investors come to Greece”.
“Greece is very strong in the shipping and in the tourism sector; because of the size of the islands, we are trying to shift this model of our economy towards new technologies; therefore, we have also given incentives for emerging technologies in new areas of business,” he mentioned.
Kavalakis also disclosed that it was important to have a new factory, new technology to ascertain how many people get jobs in the local communities and boost the local economy, believing this step could be enough to shift change.
The Secretary-General maintained that in the area of investment for Sierra Leone, he would be open to having discussions with potential investors that would be interested in going to Sierra Leone, and also discuss with the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs to proceed with the bilateral cooperation.
“For economic diplomacy to move forward, the relevant ministries in both countries must begin to have more close communication and relations,” Kavalakis emphasised.
Ambassador Samuel Tamba explained that Sierra Leone has a lot of untapped investment opportunities, and they were looking forward to productive partnerships for joint investments.
He revealed untapped mineral potentials were ranging from gold, diamond, rutile and bauxite to iron ore. He stressed that these minerals need to be harnessed for productive uses, disclosing the opportunities around investments in shipping as sea transport will yield a better partnership.
Another area Ambassador Musa emphasized was the desire to collaborate in the tourism sector, as Greece also does a lot of work around the tourism sector. “We are interested in how we can have joint partnerships because tourists go from one country to the other and this can be of benefit to both countries,” he stated.
Investment in Information technology, mobile technology and digitalization were also issues raised by the Ambassador for partnership, as this, he noted, were vital for development. Ambassador maintained “these are all possibilities we can consider and work on together within the EU framework”.
The Ambassador and Secretary General agreed to exchange investment packages for elaboration and collaboration in both countries.
