Senegal and The Gambia are determine to reinforcing the two countries’ military cooperation with a focus on peace-keeping operations and training troops from both sides. This development evolved from a “successful” visit to Senegal by Brigadier General Lang Tombong Tamba, The Gambia’s chief defence of staff.

Brig. Gen Tamba arrived in Dakar early last week and was accorded with a military welcome upon his arrival, after he was received by his Senegalese counterpart, Le Général de Corps d’Armée Abdoulaye Fall who is Senegal’s chief defence of staff.

The two army heads then proceeded to several working sessions punctuated with field visits at different Senegalese military training grounds. Key moments in those field visits were the trips to Senegal’s Army Headquarters called Camp Dial Diop and the visit to Thiès based Ecole Nationale des Officiers d’Active (ENOA), where Senegal military officers are trained.

Brig. Gen Tamba also met with Senegal’s defence minister Bécaye Diop, who decorated him with the Légion d’Honneur, a highly distinctive medal for friends of Senegal.

The culminating point in Brig. Gen Tamba’s visit was the audience granted to him by Senegal’s president, Maître Abdoulaye Wade in his palace.

Asked about the purpose of his visit in Senegal after his audience with President Wade, Brig. Gen Tamba said "Senegal and The Gambia have a long history of military cooperation. I have been sent to Senegal to strengthen those ties as wished by His Excellency Dr Alhaji Yahya A.J.J Jammeh with his Senegalese counterpart.

You know The Gambia’s commitment to peace in Africa and President Jammeh’s engagement in that direction. His elder brother President Abdoulaye Wade confirmed to me the same commitment during the audience he granted me," Brig. Gen Tamba said.

About the military cooperation between the two countries, Brig. Gen Tamba said, "Our two leaders have assigned my counterpart Gen Abdoulaye Fall and my humble self to ensure that we revive and pursue the cooperation in the fields of training with a focus on peace-keeping operations.

You already know that many Gambian officers were trained in Senegal as part of the existing cooperation between the two countries. We will continue to work together under the supervision of our countries’ heads of state to explore the availability of new dimensions to give a new dynamism to collaboration between our two armies," The Gambia’s CDS noted.

He finally thanked President Wade and the Senegalese authorities on behalf of President Jammeh and himself for the warm reception.