The President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani , met on Friday with the President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, Julius Maada Bio, within the framework of the "Antalya Diplomatic Forum", where they discussed strengthening bilateral relations and opportunities for cooperation between the two countries.
This meeting comes at a time when Serbia has claimed that Sierra Leone has withdrawn its recognition of Kosovo's independence, a claim made public by former Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic on March 3, 2020.
"In Antalya, I had the pleasure of meeting with the President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, Julius Maada Bio. We discussed strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries, as well as concrete opportunities for cooperation in various areas of common interest," Osmani wrote on Facebook.
She added that invitations for official visits to the respective countries have been exchanged to deepen friendly ties and open new chapters of cooperation.
This development directly challenges Serbia's narrative, which had included Sierra Leone in the list of countries that have allegedly withdrawn recognition of Kosovo.
Recognition by Sierra Leone was formalized on June 11, 2008, while Serbia has been claiming the opposite since March 2020.
During his stay in Turkey, Osmani also met with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whom he said is a leader who has always stood by Kosovo, in every challenge and every success.
Osmani also met with the President of Syria, Ahmet al Sharaa (Ahmed al Shirau), with whom he discussed opening new chapters of cooperation between the two countries.
President Vjosa Osmani, while staying in Antalya, Turkey, met with the Foreign Minister of Kenya, also the Chief Secretary to the Presidential Cabinet, Musalia Mudavadi.
This meeting comes shortly after the state of Kenya decided to recognize Kosovo's independence. Osmani said he thanked Mudavadi for the step taken to recognize Kosovo, which he said "contributes to long-term peace and stability in our region."
"We discussed areas of cooperation of common interest, which we will concretize during the official visit to Kenya and along our common path as allies and partners," Osmani wrote about the meeting with the Kenyan Foreign Minister.