By Francis Gabbidon Lecturer in Law,Fourah Bay College
When Sierra Leone attained Independence in 1961 Israel was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with us. Israel had an Embassy in Freetown and residences for their diplomats at Signal Hill and Hill Station.
They also had some construction companies in Sierra Leone which greatly helped with the infrastructure development of the country just after independence.
The leading companies were:
- National Construction Company Ltd;
- Solel Bonem
- Dizen Goff were also very good
Israel built the following in Sierra Leone:
- Parliament building- built just in time for our independence celebrations
- Bank of Sierra Leone
- Sierra Leone Post Office
- Oil Refinery
- Kingtom Power Station
- Cape Sierra Hotel
- Road leading to Parliament
- Road Leading to Regent from Hill Station
- Benguema Military Training Barracks and Training School
The government of Israel gave Scholarships to Sierra Leoneans to study at Universities and Colleges in Tel Aviv in medicine, teacher training, trade unionism, military intelligence, and security.
Sierra Leone should now establish an Embassy in Israel and encourage the government of Israel to re-establish their former Embassy in Sierra Leone
They can help us with Agriculture, Horticulture, Medicine and Laboratory, Technology, and Information Technology
Most importantly Israel should help us with our ONS Intelligence and Security Agency as they have the best Intelligence Organisation in the world
Famous Israelis who have visited Sierra Leone in the past are:
-Abba Eban-Foreign Minister
-Golda Meir- Prime Minister
-David Kimchee- Director of Foreign Affairs
Recent countries to establish Diplomatic Relations with Israel are UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, Oman, Brunei, and Sudan.
