President Yahya Jammeh has opined that though The Gambia & Venezuela  may be two countries geographically separated by long distance and located on two continents, culturally and ideologically, “we are so close and I dare say we are one.”

President Jammeh made this statement at the extraordinary session of the Venezuela parliament on Monday, day 2 of his working visit. He said that despite the distance separating the two countries, they share the same fundamental principles of social and economic justice for all peoples within and between nations, based on mutual respect and the exultation of the dignity of the human being. “We each believe in an economic development model where equity and efficiency considerations take centre stage,” the president said, adding that historically Latin America and Africa, and by extension the Bolivian republic of Venezuela and The Gambia have had very strong socio-cultural ties. “The significant percentage of Venezuelans of African descent is a clear testimony of this historical link,” the president said.

President Jammeh further said that his presence in the Venezuelan parliament is a demonstration of his commitment to further reinforce bilateral relations between the two people, governments and institutions. He said the federal legislative parliament being an important arm of government is a very good player in the running of government business while remaining an institution governed by the people and for the people.

The Gambian leader deduced that in view of such a mandate the official expression “Peoples Power aptly reflect the concept of your system of government and all that it stands for. As one of the oldest democracies in South America it is edifying and worthy of emulation. In this connection therefore I have on my delegation high- ranking officials of the Gambia National Assembly including the Honourable Speaker and the Minority Leader.

President Jammeh further expressed his belief that the Speaker of the Gambia National Assembly and her colleague would without doubt seize the opportunity offered by the federal legislative parliament to exchange ideas and experiences and develop a framework of co-operation with their Venezuelan counterparts on matters of mutual interests and concern.