"We rely on countries like Russia" that can share knowledge in hydrogeology to help us address the issue of access to clean water, Sierra Leone's Minister of Mines and Mineral Resources, Julius Mattai, said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) 2024.
Mattai welcomed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between his country and the Russian state-owned company, RosGeo, on cooperation in this field.
The senior official noted that, aside from the numerous rivers in Sierra Leone that dry up in the dry season, climate change "creates a lot of havoc."
He recalled that in 2017, climate change-induced massive floods in the country polluted most of the running streams and even the groundwater.
"So, as far as I'm concerned, I mean, most Sierra Leoneans, including myself, will be happy to have access to water rather than gold. You can go without gold for the rest of your life, but you cannot go without water for a day or two," Mattai concluded.
In early May, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with his Sierra Leonean counterpart Timothy Kabba in Russia's capital, Moscow. The two top diplomats talked about joint projects in the fields of energy and mining during negotiations.