2 more diplomats present credence

Friday, February 15, 2008

The new Guinea Conakary ambassador accredited to The Gambia and the new Canadian High Commissioner, yesterday presented their letters of credence to President Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh at his office at State House, Banjul.

Madam Hadja Koumba Diakite of Guinea Conakary and Mr Jean Pierre Bolduc of Canada where accompanied to State House by Crispin Grey-Johnson, secretary of state for Foreign Affairs.

Speaking to the newsmen soon after presenting her letter to the Gambian leader, Madam Hadja Koumba Diakite, expressed delight at the Gambian leader for accepting her credence.

According to her, President Jammeh has equally instructed her as how President Lassana Conteh of Guinea instructed her, which is to put into action the areas of bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

"President Jammeh has also instructed me and The Gambia Foreign Ministry to work hand-in-hand to identify the active sectors of the economy in which we can collaborate, such as agriculture, trade, and tourism. This will be a wonderful link between The Gambia and Guinea, which all geared towards the well being of the two states," she concluded.

For his part, Mr Jean Pierre Bolduc, High Commissioner of Canada, said he equally received a warm welcome from President Jammeh to come back to The Gambia, help address areas, where Canada has more expertise.

He added that during their discussions, both the president and himself recalled the close relationship between Canada and The Gambia over the years, including various areas of mutual interest for the two nations.

"Some of these areas have been in existence for a long time and some are in recently. We also reflected on what The Gambia has been doing. For instance, there are areas of possible investment like tourism, mineral and petroleum sectors, in which Canada has a lot of expertise and capabilities and certainly this is something that we will bring back from Canada in terms of openness and possibilities.We also discussed the needs for skills training and capabilities of Canada in that field. Already, there has been some linkages and President Jammeh alerted me on them," he said.

In the area of investment, High Commsioner Bolduc said there are companies that have shown interest to invest in The Gambia, assuring that while in The Gambia, he will make contacts back in Canada on the possibilities of investment by the Canadian private sector.

Author: by Alhagie Jobe & Abdul Jobe