The Honorary Consul
of Hungary to Sierra Leone
SPEECH BY THE HONORARY CONSUL OF HUNGARY, MR. JIHAD N. ETER AT THE WORLD’S LARGEST AMATEUR RALLY
“BUDAPEST BAMAKO FREETOWN CHALLENGE”
FEBRUARY 2024.
- Your Excellency the President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, (Rtd.) Brigadier Dr. Julius Maada Bio,
- The Hon. Vice President, Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh,
- Hon. Ministers of Government,
- The Hon. Minister of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, Madam Nabeela Farida Tunis,
- The Dean and members of the Diplomatic and Consular Corps,
- Distinguished participants, Ladies and gentlemen.
It is a great honour and privilege for me to be in your midst on this exciting occasion that marks the finish line of the world’s largest amateur rally dubbed “Budapest Bamako Freetown Challenge”. I look forward to see more of these fascinating and exciting adventures by all the distinguished participants of this great event. Let me use this opportunity to thank His Excellency the president, and the Hon. Vice President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, for their visionary strides to ensure that Sierra Leone becomes an attractive touristic destination.
Let me also commend the hardworking Minister of Tourism and Cultural affairs, Madam Nabeela Farida Tunis, for her tremendous contribution in the tourism sector.We believe that with the guidance and support of His Excellency the president and the cooperation of all players in the tourism sector, the dynamic Hon. Minister of tourism and cultural affairs would definitely make Sierra Leone the hub of tourism and one of the best touristic destinations in the world. The compliment Sierra Leone always gets from tourists from different parts of the world is very impressive, and that is an indication of the country’s touristic development. This country is blessed with friendly people, beautiful touristic sites, comfortable weather condition and unique natural landscapes.
Your Excellency, we have about eighty nationalities in this year’s Budapest Bamako Rally, amongst these participants are three sierra Leoneans, a prominent Sierra Leonean artiste known by his stage name Drizilik, a passionate parent, Mr. I.B. Cole and Mr. Mohamed Waritay. These Sierra Leoneans are participating in this year’s event to create awareness about autism which is a neurological and developmental disorder that affects how people interact with others, communicate, learn, and behave.We stand in solidarity with all those grappling with autism and demand that their human rights be respected as most people in their various community commonly refer to them in our lingua franca as “fool fool”. My office is looking forward to work with the Sierra Leone Autistic Society to enhance the well being of children living with autism.
Your Excellency, I am delighted to reiterate my office’s commitment to continue strengthening the already existing bilateral relations between Sierra Leone and Hungary. My office is pleased to inform you all that for this year’s scholarship to study in Hungary, there are seven hundred and sixty applicants, for which all of the applicants will go through a thorough scrutiny, and thereafter fifty of those seven hundred and sixty applicants would be awarded the scholarships based on merit to study in Hungary in their various fields of studies.
With that, let me conclude by thanking the organizers of this prestigious rally and all the participants for participating. To my Hungarian participants, I dove my hat to you all and want to say a big thank you from the bottom of my heart. I say thank you so much for coming and please come again. To all other participants in this event, you have earned my respect and admiration. Your hard work, dedication and commitment towards this event are topnotch. As you return, kindly convey your sweet experience to your families, friends, and loved ones about the friendly atmosphere and excellent hospitality in Sierra Leone. And please don’t forget to inform and also demonstrate to them some of your cultural dance steps during the party at Bureh Beach ha-ha-ha! Finally, Special thanks goes to the Sierra Leone police and other security personnel for providing security for us all.
I Thank you all and God bless you.
