BANJUL, June 29, 2021: The fifth resident Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of The Gambia to the Republic of Turkey, His Excellency Serign Modou Njie, on June 23, 2021 presented his Letters of Credence to the President of Turkey, His Excellency Recep Tayyip Erdo?an at a special ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Ankara.
Following presentation of his Letters of Credence, Ambassador Njie conveyed fraternal best wishes from the President of the Republic of The Gambia, His Excellency Adama Barrow to the Turkish President, His Excellency Recep Tayyip Erdo?an, the Government and people of Turkey. He also conveyed President Adama Barrow’s profound gratitude and appreciation to H.E President Erdo?an for his leadership role in the Muslim world and the valuable support that the Republic of Turkey has rendered to the Government and people of The Gambia in various fields of development such as in Education, Health, and Security Sector, as well as in building the capacity of our civil servants and the security personnel.
During diplomatic engagement with the Turkish President, Ambassador Njie highlighted the fruitful cooperation between The Gambia and Turkey in the areas of Education, Health, trade, air transport, security, tourism, and Women Empowerment projects. He also briefed President Erdogan about the status of the legal case filed by The Gambia against the State of Myanmar at the International Court of Justice in the Hague.
The Ambassador used the opportunity to request an increase in the number of Turkish Government scholarships and patients that receive free treatment in Turkey under the existing Cooperation Agreements. He also appealed for the Turkish Government’s support in granting residence and work permits to the hundreds of Gambian immigrants currently residing in Turkey. Finally, he requested for Turkey’s support in the planned refurbishment of Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital and the construction of office premises for members of the National Assembly at the National Assembly complex.
While expressing happiness over the state of bilateral relations and cooperation between The Gambia and Turkey, Ambassador Njie promised to augment these relations to a new height during his tenure.
In his response, President Erdo?an immediately approved the request for the refurbishment of the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital and tasked his team to look into the other areas of cooperation.
For his part, President Erdo?an congratulated Ambassador Njie on his deserved elevation to the position of Ambassador, following his stint as Deputy Ambassador in Turkey, and wished him success in further strengthening the existing bilateral relations between The Gambia and Turkey. President Erdo?an fondly highlighted that The Gambia is the first sub-Saharan African country to have a defence cooperation agreement with Turkey and expressed the desire to deepen the existing bilateral cooperation in various fields of mutual interest. Finally, President Erdogan expressed the need to improve on the current US$60 million trade volume between the two countries.
It could be recalled that The Gambia established diplomatic relations with Turkey as of the date of Gambia’s independence from Britain in 1965. The two countries have closely work together at international community level, such as the United Nations and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
Present at the presentation ceremony were Madam Sally Manneh Njie, spouse of the Ambassador, Mr. Cherno Marenah, Deputy Head of Mission, Brigadier General Omar Bune Mbye, Defence Attaché, and the family of the Ambassador.
