Sierra Leone and Korea will soon celebrate 60 years of friendship spiced with cultural events of both countries in Freetown by end of this year.

The two countries will also focus on ways to strengthen cooperation in a wide range of areas including infrastructure, fisheries, trade, people-to-people exchange, food and water security and sharing of knowledge and skills. The two countries have established diplomatic relations since June 25, 1962.

The new Freetown City hall was funded by the Korean government amounting to USD 55 million and was built with the help of Korean engineers. The fifteen story tall city hall complex became the tallest building in Sierra Leone.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1962, Korea has always been a close friend of Sierra Leone and vice versa. During the Ebola crisis, the Korea government sent a team of medical experts and medical supplies to help contain the virus and also the current pandemic they again provided support to help fight the disease.

Korea donated 19,200 test kits to Sierra Leone through the World Health Organization and 200,000 face masks through UNICEF.

"The strong solidarity that we share with the people of Sierra Leone in the fight against COVID-19 will help us overcome the pandemic together. The friendship between our two countries goes further than just fighting diseases together. Korea and Sierra Leone both share similar histories because both had suffered from civil war and the people of both countries also share great optimism and hope for a brighter future," Ambassador Kim Young Chae.