Day 4 in New York : President Koroma holds bilaterals , attends MDG events and meets with the press, DFID Minister and Tony Blair

Posted by Cocorioko Newspaper on September 23, 20100 Comment

By Wilfred Leeroy Kabs-Kanu :

On the fourth day of his stay in New York, where he is attending the 65th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, President Ernest Koroma today had another busy day as he had bilateral meetings , attended the Millennium Development Goals ( MDG ) events and was interviewed by the Associated Press before a CNN Media event with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

President Koroma was invited join UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, and a group of 300 Heads of State and Government, to participate in this years UN Private Sector Forum on the MDGs to discuss how the private sector, Government and the UN can work together to advance progress towards the achievement of the MDG by 2015 –(round table discussions). This event was held over lunch.

President Koroma was also invited to a UNDP side event on the theme “Turning evidence into practice: Learning from what works to accelerate MDG progress” , with guest speakers including UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, and the Presidents of Colombia, Liberia and Laos .

The President also attended a High Level Plenary Meeting of the MDG where he participated at Roundtable Nr. 6 n topic the topic : ”Widening and Strengthening Partnerships UNGA MDG” .

At his hotel, the President had a Bilateral meeting with Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Managing Director of World Bank after being interviewed by the Associated Press. The President then had another Bilateral with the UK Minister for Development Aid ( DFID ) , Mr. Andrew Mitchell, who was accompanied by the Director for Development Aid , Nick Dyer.

The President rounded up the day’s events by meeting with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair in a CNN Media event that saw the ex-British Premier being interviewed about his interest in Sierra Leone, President Koroma’s leadership and the prospects for socio-economic and political development in Sierra Leone.

Also today, Sierra Leone established diplomatic relations with Uruguay who are interested in strenthening Security reforms and promoting investments and tourism in Sierra Leone.

HERE ARE PHOTOS OF THE DAY’S EVENTS