Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – October 1, 1996

We went from home to Saadabad for the welcoming ceremony of [Mr. Ahmad Tajan Kaba], the President of Sierra Leone. He arrived last night and Mr. [Gholamreza] Frouzesh, [Minister of Jihad Construction], came to the residence with him at the airport. They did not come by private plane. Travel tickets with Iran Air have been prepared for them. Many of his ministers are with him. Sun and song ceremony was done. We did a joint interview. He said good things in the interview.

Then we had a private meeting. He said that he is happy that Iran has chosen his first trip outside of Africa, but the United States and some people in his country have opposed it, and he showed a copy of a declaration that was published against him in this opposition, and said that this is the first free election in which the president and the majority of the parliament were elected from Muslims. The vast majority of people are Muslims.

He asked me to help the Muslims to be proud and establish their government, and he put forward several demands: 1- To tell Mr. Muammar Gaddafi, [Libyan leader], not to support the rebels of his country 2- To help strengthen his country's security organization. 3- To equip the army and its police force. 4- To help regarding oil, industry, mines, agriculture and fishing. I agreed to all cases. I said that he should not expect us to help for free, but with facilities and technical and managerial assistance.

In the official meeting with the presence of the ministers and their companions, the same issues were raised in an official public manner; Except for the case of Libya and America. In a private conversation, he said that his cousin is a judge in the Hague Court and said that during the case of Iran's lawsuit against America, it is about the destruction of the oil platform and that Iran's evidence is strong. After the negotiations, he went to the heart hospital for a checkup. I went to visit the Orkideh [Kushk] building; It is being prepared for the office [chairmanship of the expediency recognition council].

On the way, Mr. [Hussein] Sheikh al-Islam, [Political Deputy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs], reported on his trip to Uganda and Sudan; He had gone to deal with Uganda's complaint against Sudan. After the ceasefire, Sudan has bombed a point in Uganda and is ready to apologize. Two delegations have been sent to Iran to continue negotiations. I told him to inform Mr. [Mohammed Kazem] Khansari, [Iranian Ambassador to Libya], to return to Libya and deliver the message to the President of Sierra Leone.

Mohsen [Hashmi, head of the president's office] came. While presenting the report and questions related to the president's office, he gave the report of the trip to Rafsanjan. He is satisfied with the progress of the Rafsanjan cultural, sports and service complex project; This year's pistachio crop is low.

In the evening Mr. [Abbas] Akhundi, [Minister of Housing and Urban Development] came. He offered a proposal for research and propaganda to introduce the role of Islam in world civilization. Mr. [Burhanuddin] Rabbani, the president of Afghanistan, called from the north of this country and said that they have a foundation of resistance against the Taliban and emphasized the brazen support of America, Pakistan, and Saudi [Arabia] against the Taliban. It was decided that the matter will be discussed there tomorrow with Mr. [Aladdin] Borujerdi, [Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs].

The Economic Council had a meeting. We determined the guaranteed price of agricultural products. At night in Saadabad, we had the dinner ceremony of the President of Sierra Leone. At the dinner table, there were many discussions about their economic and cultural situation. I came home Mr. Aminian was a guest. we talked I watched a movie and fell asleep.