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By Lamin Cham
Over a sumptuous dinner and entertainment galore, The Gambia and the United Kingdom traced and projected an even greater cooperation at celebrations marking the birthday of King Charles III at the High Commissioner’s residence Wednesday.
Welcoming the gathering of government officials, diplomats, civic society and others, High Commissioner Harriet King raised a toast and cut King’s birthday cake with Vice President Mohammed B.S. Jallow, with each taking turn to speak on the long relationship between the two countries, with both rejoicing its achievements and good prospects.
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“The Gambia and the United Kingdom enjoy a partnership that is rich, deep, historic and strong and my job and core purpose here is to ensure that this relationship is further strengthened, further nourished, and further enriched. As many amongst you know, I have a clear passion to work with you all to make the lives of all Gambians better – to do all I can do to make those lives as good as they can possibly be. I have clear and deep-set passions in particular for health, education, women and girls, which are reflected in what we are trying to deliver as the British High Commission. The Gambia has so much potential. I see it everywhere I go. In the determination of young entrepreneurs trying to make lives better for themselves and their families, in business owners who invest all they have in terms of time and money to make an idea work and a business grow, in the amazing civil society organisations who work so tirelessly to fight for their causes, to my colleagues from the diplomatic community and other international organisations who are with the British High Commission, trying to do all we can to help The Gambia. I see huge potential in the nature – the birds, the hippos, the beautiful river. Your cashews are delicious. My children – when they heard we were going to be posted here – jumped up and down about the mangoes and the wonjo they would be able to enjoy. These opportunities for investment, and enhanced trade and exports are so clearly there, and the British High Commission is determined to help however we can with this,” the High Commissioner began, with a personal experience of The Gambia.
She posited that her country’s cooperation and support to the rights of women and girls continues with energy and drive, adding through “Civil Society Organisations and our friends at the United Nations we will do all we can in this area. Our support on health, particularly through the Medical Research Council, but also increasingly through our support of the work of the Horizons Trust, and the growing partnerships between medical professionals and institutions in the UK and The Gambia, will I hope continue to grow. I want to do more on education, and we will look at ways at which partnerships with the UK can help further support the education sector here, including on scholarships. Our support to the security sector here remains strong, and it’s fabulous to see so many British nationals returning to The Gambia now the tourist season has started again. We will continue to support growth in this area. We will strive to do more to support on climate change – particularly climate resilience. And lastly as mentioned earlier, economic growth is a key area of focus for our new government in the UK, and we have plans afoot for a trade delegation to visit The Gambia in early 2025 to look at investment opportunities, hopefully headed up by our Minister for Africa,” the High Commissioner said. She cited the visit in 2018 of King Charles to The Gambia which His Majesty still remembers with joy.
In response, Vice President Mohammed Jallow said
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in recent decades, The Gambia and the United Kingdom have strengthened their bilateral relationship through various initiatives in education, tourism, governance, security and development. He added that UK’s unwavering support for The Gambia during key moments in history, including the democratic transition in 2017, stands as a testament to the strong bonds that unite the two countries.
“In particular, partnerships in education, the Chevening and Commonwealth scholarships, technical assistance and capacity-building initiatives have empowered countless Gambians, enabling them to contribute meaningfully to national development and continue to build on the strong people to people links between our two countries. Building on these links, in the few months I look forward to welcoming a UK trade delegation to The Gambia and working alongside the High Commissioner to help more Gambian businesses to enter the UK market, particularly in the agricultural sector. And on our shared priority of tackling climate change, we stand side by. The Gambia has continued to meet its NDC commitments and with UK support we are now in a position to sell our first carbon credits on the international market, generating vital income for our Government,” the Vice President said.
He said there is no greater example of the relationship “than on our shared commitment to upholding democratic principles, human rights and the rule of law.” He said the support of His Majesty’s government on justice sector reform and the judicial to judicial links fostered by the Commonwealth Magistrates and Judges Association has ensured that our judiciary are better train and equipped for the challenges of the digital age.
“On security, we have a deep and historic relationship and I am pleased that the relationship between the Armed Forces our two nations continues to go from strength to strength. We are proud to have several graduates from Royal Military College in Sandhurst and the Royal Naval College serving in the Gambian Armed Forces and the Gambian Navy. Furthermore, UK and Gambian troops regularly conduct training together as allies for global security in preparation for UN peace keeping missions. So as we celebrate His Majesty’s birthday today, we also celebrate the shared values and aspirations that bind The Gambia and the United Kingdom. This occasion reminds us of the potential for even greater collaboration as we continue to build a brighter and more prosperous future for our peoples,” he said.
