RI forges ties with Siera Leone

RI forges ties with Siera Leone

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia and Sierra Leone has officially opened
diplomatic ties at the ambassadorial level, the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs said.

A joint communique for the establishment of diplomatic ties
was signed in mid-November in Dakar, Senegal, between Indonesia's
Ambassador to Senegal Utoyo Yamtomo and Alhaji Haroun M. Bukari,
Sierra Leone's ambassador to Senegal.

Sierra Leone, a tiny state in West Africa with a population of
4.5 million people, predominantly Moslem, is a member of the Non-
Aligned Movement which Indonesia currently chairs and also of the
Organization of Islamic Conferences (OIC), of which Indonesia is
also a member.

Utoyo, who is based in Dakar, will also lead the Indonesian
mission in Sierra Leone. Bukari, who is based in Gambia, will be
Sierra Leone's ambassador to Indonesia, according to the
statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (emb)