Six foreign ambassadors to Banjul have presented their letters of credence to President Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh at State House, Banjul, amid renewed commitment to further propel The Gambia’s cooperation externally.

This development, which took place yesterday and streamed throughout the afternoon, brought the total number of ambassadors, who have presented their letters of credence to the Gambian leader to 14  in four days.

The six new ambassadors were Maria Munira Jauad Ribeiro of Guinea Bissau, Georges Godart of Belgium, Jean Christophe Rufin of France, Vincent Boule of Gabon, Dr Mohammad Al-Doukali Hassan of the Great Socialist People of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, and Antonio Augustus Montenegro Vieira Cardoso of Portugal.
Crispin Grey-Johnson, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, led the foreign plenipotentiaries to State House, where President Jammeh rolled out a red carpet reception for them.

Guinea Bissau
Speaking in an interview with journalists shortly after presenting her credence, Guinea Bissau’s Ambassador Maria Munira Jauad Ribeiro said it is a priority in her new diplomatic engagement to revive the Joint Commission between Banjul and Bissau.
Ambassador Ribeiro expressed hope that this will set the stage for the two countries to work together, affirming her commitment to strengthening bilateral relations.
“If we are independent today, we will be independent economically,” she said, while using the opportunity to thank President Joao Bernado Nino Vieira for the appointment.

Belgium
For his part, Belgian Ambassador Georges Godart revealed to journalists that the relationship between Banjul and Brussels has been relatively less developed, adding that it’s part of objectives to chart partnership in new areas of interest, including assistance in agriculture, and Information and Communication Technology, which he discussed with the President. He hinted to journalists of the possibilities of exploring economic cooperation, as well as investment and politics.
He observed that currently, Banjul and Brussels are linked by a Belgian airline (SN Brussels) and then expressed willingness to encourage more Belgian investors in The Gambia.

However, Ambassador Godart acknowledged that the partnership is a combination of different fields and then advanced a strategy to tackle the priority areas “step-by-step to satisfy the needs of The Gambia”.
France
French Ambassador Jean Christophe Rufin confirmed to journalists that former French President, Jacques Chirac and President Jammeh were great friends and  expressed hope that such  cordiality would prevail with President Sarkozy.
“During our discussion”, he said, “President Jammeh emphasised the importance of cooperation in linguistic education and the need to enhance the teaching of French from the primary school to advanced levels of learning”. He disclosed the possibility of granting scholarships to enable Gambian students to pursue their advanced academic studies in France.

The French Ambassador affirmed President Sarkozy’s foreign policy to develop relations with countries across Africa and not just its former colonies. He said the French President has no iota of preconception about Africa and  emphasised that relations with Paris transcends traditional colonial leanings.

Gabon
Also speaking in an interview with journalists, Gabonese Ambassador, Vincent Boule, confirmed that exploring new avenues for cooperation in trade and education are part of his aim.
“Our leaders are very good friends and I will make it my duty to improve relations between the two countries, not only at the level of the leaders but also government-to-government relations,” Mr Boule assured journalists.

Libya
In a brief but straight-forward interview with journalists, Libyan Ambassador, Dr Mohammad Al-Doukali Hassan of the Great Socialist People of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, said that he will work “very hard” to consolidate and enhance relations between Banjul and Tripoli.

Portugal
Portuguese Ambassador, Antonio Augustus Montenegro Vieiera Cardoso, reminded journalists about the presidency of the EU, which is currently  occupied by his country. Ambassador Cardoso dilated on the need for Europe and Africa to work closely together for a promising future.
“It’s a great responsibility but also a great opportunity,” Portuguese Ambassador Cardoso concluded.

To this end, The Gambia’s Foreign Affairs Secretary of State Grey-Johnson, summed up this diplomatic breakthrough as representative of President Jammeh’s re-engagement of countries around the world. SoS Grey-Johnson described the diplomatic fashion in which this objective is pursued as “very very positive and serious. I think it says a lot about how the rest of the world perceives His Excellency and The Gambia. It also shows how we are open and even more open to the rest of the world”.