By Ticha Lemp Lemp
Freetown, 7th October 2026- Newly appointed Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister, Mohamed Rahman Swaray, has disclosed that economic diplomacy is at the centre of his vision for Sierra Leone’s foreign policy, telling the diplomatic community that the country’s international relations must translate into tangible opportunities for its people.
Speaking at a diplomatic briefing and cocktail at the Foreign Office in Tower Hill on Tuesday, Swaray said Sierra Leone’s engagement with the outside world must go beyond traditional diplomatic relations to deliver trade, investment, technology, skills and productive capacity.
“Sierra Leone’s diplomacy must deliver for Sierra Leone,” the Minister declared, outlining a foreign policy anchored in national interests and aligned with the country’s Medium-Term National Development Plan 2024–2030.
Swaray said the country was open to investment, technology, market access, development finance and long-term commercial partnerships, but stressed that such engagement must be based on national sovereignty, the rule of law and equal opportunity.
He said Sierra Leone’s diplomatic missions must play a more active role in identifying opportunities, connecting potential investors and partners with the right institutions, and helping build confidence in the country’s investment potential.
However, the minister cautioned that the quality of investment mattered as much as its volume.
“The quality of growth matters as much as its scale,” he said, adding that investment should strengthen productive capacity, develop the skills of Sierra Leoneans and create sustainable opportunities.
The Minister’s broader reform agenda places economic diplomacy alongside four other priorities: peace, institutional balance and accountability; citizen protection and legal migration; diaspora and consular services; and regional, multilateral and community engagement.
He also promised to modernise the Foreign Service through greater professionalism, accountability, digital service delivery and stronger coordination across government, while improving services for Sierra Leoneans abroad.
The engagement, which brought members of the diplomatic and consular corps together with representatives from the media, civil society and other stakeholders, was also used to open what Swaray described as a regular and constructive dialogue with Sierra Leone’s international partners.
Participants welcomed the initiative, with the broad-based and social evening format providing an opportunity for diplomats and domestic stakeholders to exchange views on Sierra Leone’s international priorities and areas for practical cooperation.
Swaray, who has previously served as Minister of Information and Communications and Minister of Employment, Labour and Social Security, has developed a reputation for placing institutional reforms and measurable delivery at the centre of his ministerial assignments. During his tenure at the Ministry of Information, he presided over the landmark repeal of the more than 50 year-old criminal libel law which had stagnated the growth of the media and organized the first-ever media investment and viability conference to unlock the potential of the country’s media.
At the Labour ministry under his tenure, the Social Protection Act 2025 was enacted, with the World Bank and UNICEF publicly commending the ministry’s work on the legislation.
At Foreign Affairs, Swaray now faces the task of translating that results-oriented approach into diplomacy, with economic diplomacy emerging as a defining feature of his early agenda.
As he told the diplomatic community: “I have not come this evening to conclude a conversation, but to begin one.”
Ticha Lemp Lemp | Wednesday, 7 October, 2025 | Diplomacy