President Alhaji Dr. Ahmad Tejan Kabbah delivered a very comprehensive address on the Prospects for Lasting Peace and Development in Sierra Leone at the Royal Commonwealth Society in London on Thursday July 24th 2003.

The Head of State was given a rapturous welcome when he arrived in the hall to deliver his address.

Earlier on, the Head of State was briefly introduced by the former Commonwealth Secretary General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku.

In his vote of thanks, the Commonwealth Secretary General, Rtd. Hon. Don. Mackinnon thanked President Kabbah for his "very real commitment" to lasting peace and development in Sierra Leone.

He promised that the Commonwealth would continue to work with the government and people of Sierra Leone to consolidate the hard-won peace in the country.

The Commonwealth Secretary General said he was very pleased with the significant achievements that the government of Sierra leone had made after the end of the rebel war in January 2002.

Among the many distinguished guests at the gathering were members of the foreign diplomatic corps in London, business executives and politicians across the political spectrum.

Accompanying the President to the Royal Commonwealth Society were the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alhaji Momodu Koroma, the Minister of Transport and Communications, Dr. Prince Harding, the Minister of Education, Dr. Alpha Wurie and the High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Alhaji Sulaiman Tejan Jalloh.

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