His Worship the Mayor of Freetown City Council, Franklyn Bode Gibson on Friday 28th March 2014 officially launched the National and International Trade Fair and Exhibition at the National Stadium in Freetown. The fair and exhibition which are jointly being held on the theme: "Small Medium Enterprise (SME) Development. The Way Forward to Wealth Creation and National Prosperity", is organized by the Sierra Leone Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture. At least three hundred private sector investors from Sierra Leone and others countries are participating in the trade fair and exhibition.

In his keynote address, Mayor Gibson advised all and sundry to support the trade fair and exhibition in order to develop SMEs to achieve their goals. "Let us visit the various booths at the national stadium and make use of the various products and opportunities therein" the Mayor called on all. He said it was prudent for everybody to establish contacts with local and international manufacturers as a means of achieving the Agenda for Prosperity and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as well as economics development.

The mayor stressed that the Chamber of Commerce serves as a major data bank for information on import/export business, helping SMEs, solving problems between government and the private sector as well as building the capacity of business people. He assured the organizers and participants of his Council's continued support to the successful end of the trade fair and exhibition.

Speaking earlier, President of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture, Mrs. Gladys Strasser-King said the event is going to offer an opportunity for businesses in Sierra Leone and the sub-region to showcase their products and services that will stand the test of domestic and global acceptance and competitiveness. She said good governance, stability, opportunity and conduciveness environment are mainly responsible for the large turnout ever in the history of trade fair and exhibition.