Sierra Leone’s Vice President, Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, Friday 28 August 2020 joined ECOWAS Heads of State and Government for an Extraordinary Summit on the socio-political situation in the Republic of Mali, following the overthrow on 18 August of the democratically elected President, Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta.

Leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) congratulated the work of the mediation team led by former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan and called for a short and guided transition process that would be specifically geared toward transferring power to an elected legitimate authority.

They also agreed that the lifting of sanctions, imposed by the regional body, would be tied to progress made by the new transition government. They emphasised that their actions, so far, were clear proof that they would always stand very firm against the unconstitutional change of power.

In his concluding statement, Dr. Juldeh Jalloh reiterated Sierra Leone’s commitment to supporting decisions of ECOWAS and to helping the people of Mali move out of the fragility the country found itself.

The Vice President, who was sitting in for President Dr. Julius Maada Bio, had closely followed events in the landlocked West African nation and the region, and his knowledge of the deep-seated crisis in that country was considered added value to the union’s on-going negotiations efforts.

Dr Jalloh had served as senior adviser for the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) and as Sahel adviser to the special representative of the United Nations secretary-general for West Africa and the Sahel.