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)