Diplomacy took center stage in the Mano River Union basin on Monday, March 16, when leaders of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea rushed to Conakry in an urgent bid to defuse a rapidly escalating border dispute between Liberia and Guinea–an incident that many warn could threaten stability in a region that only recently emerged from decades of conflict.

President Joseph Nyuma Boakai and Julius Maada Bio arrived in the Guinean capital for high-level consultations with Guinea President Mamadi Doumbouya, amid mounting concerns over confrontations along Guinea’s borders with both Liberia and Sierra Leone.

The talks, held at the Mohammed VI Presidential Palace in Conakry, brought together key leaders of the Mano River Union (MRU), a bloc created to promote economic integration and peace among Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Côte d’Ivoire.

The urgent diplomatic intervention follows a series of tense developments along the Liberia-Guinea border that have unsettled communities and revived memories of past regional instability.