India–Sierra Leone relations refers to the international relations that exist between India and Sierra Leone. India maintains a High Commission in Freetown. Sierra Leone does not have a resident diplomatic mission in India. The Sierra Leonean embassy in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates is accredited to India.
History
India opened an Honorary Consulate General in Freetown in 1993, functioning under the jurisdiction of the High Commission of India in Accra, Ghana. In July 2019, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that India would open embassies in 18 African countries, including Sierra Leone. The High Commission of India in Freetown was opened in August 2020.
Several high-level ministerial level visits have taken place between the two countries. Sierra Leonean Minister of Industry and Transport A.E. Bangura visited New Delhi in November 1998, becoming the first Sierra Leonean minister to visit India. The Speaker of the Sierra Leone Parliament, accompanied by two members of Parliament, visited New Delhi in January 2003. Foreign Minister Alhaji Momodu Koroma and Trade and Industry Minister Kadi Sesay visited New Delhi in November 2005. Koroma visited the country again in January 2007. Several other Sierra Leonean minister and members of Parliament have also visited India.
The first visit by an Indian minister to Sierra Leone occurred in July 2000, when Defence Minister George Fernandes visited the country. The next visit by an Indian minister to the country came almost a decade later when Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma visited in January 2009. Bihar's Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi visited Sierra Leone to attend the "Sierra Leone Conference on Development and Transformation" in early 2012. Minister of State for Water Resources Ram Kripal Yadav visited Sierra Leone as the Prime Minister's Special Envoy in July 2015 to invite President Ernest Bai Koroma to attend the 3rd India-Africa Forum Summit. Koroma visited India to attend the Summit in October 2015 becoming the first Sierra Leonean President to visit the country, and also held bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Indian Vice President Venkaiah Naidu visited Sierra Leone on 12-14 October 2019, accompanied by Minister of State for Animal Husbandry, Dairy and Fisheries Sanjeev Kumar Balyan and Rajya Sabha MP from Chhattisgarh Ramvichar Netam. Naidu met with Sierra Leonean President Brig (retd) Julius Maada Bio and signed several MoUs to set up a joint commission, hold regular Foreign Office Consultations (FOC), cultural exchange, and conducting training and exchange programmes for Sierra Leonean diplomats. Naidu also met with Speaker Abass Bundu and Foreign Minister Nabeela Tunis, and interacted with the Indian community in Sierra Leone.
The first FOC between the two countries was held in Sierra Leone in March 2021.
Trade
Bilateral trade between India and Sierra Leone totaled US$139.86 million in 2019–20, recording a growth of 12.80% over the previous fiscal. India is among the top 5 exporters to Sierra Leone, and exported $115.37 million worth of goods to the country in 2019–20. India made $24.49 million worth of imports from Sierra Leone during the same period, a growth of 108.86% over the previous year. The main commodities exported by India to Sierra Leone are pharmaceuticals, plastics, non-basmati rice, two and three wheelers, industrial machinery, electrical machinery and goods, ceramic products, articles of iron and steel, and aluminium. The major commodities imported by India from Sierra Leone are ferrous waste and scrap, wood pulp, waste paper and small quantities of titanium ores.
In June 2010, Bharti Airtel struck a deal to buy Zain's mobile operations in 15 African countries, including Sierra Leone, for $8.97 billion, in India's second biggest overseas acquisition after Tata Steel's US$13 billion buy of Corus in 2007. Bharti Airtel completed the acquisition on 8 June 2010. In January 2016, Airtel announced that it had entered into an agreement to sell its operations in Burkina Faso and Sierra Leone to French telecom company Orange S.A. The value of the deal was not disclosed, but analysts estimated it to be worth $800–900 million. Orange assumed control of operations in Sierra Leone in July 2016. Indian investment firm ABG Group in partnership with Sierra Leone Exploration Mining Company (SLEMCO) discovered an estimated 321 million MT of bauxite deposits in Sierra Leone in 2011.
There were over 60 Indian-owned companies based in the country as of December 2016, of which around 20 are trading companies.