The Embassy of the Republic of The Gambia in Madrid, Spain in collaboration with the Gambian community and friends of The Gambia on Saturday 25th March, 2017 celebrated the 52nd Independence Anniversary and the Advent of the new Gambia under the distinguish Leadership of His Excellency President Adama Barrow in Blanes City, Catalonia Region, Spain.
The celebration was attended by a large crowd comprising of the Lord Mayor of Blanes and his staff, Representatives of the Mayors of Malgrat city, Banyoles city, Lloret de Mar city, Calella city, the Honorary Consuls of The Gambia in Barcelona and Girona and the Gambian Community in Spain. The massive turnout in Blanes to witness the auspicious occasion is amanifestation of love for The Gambia by Gambians and non-Gambians alike.
The programme started in the morning with a courtesy call by H. E. Lang Yabou and delegation on the Lord Mayor of Blanes, Mr. Miguel Lupianez. The Mayor was joined by his Council members, senior officials and representatives from the economic sector of Blanes.
The Lord Mayor thanked the Ambassador for the visit and seized the opportunity to congratulate the President of the Republic, His Excellency Adama Barrow and the people of The Gambia for the peaceful resolution of the political impasse.
In response, the Gambian envoy expressed sincere appreciation to the Mayor and his people for receiving him and delegation in the beautiful city of Blanes.
During the audience, the Ambassador and his host held detailed discussions centering on areas of mutual interest aimed at opening new avenues of cooperation and collaboration and taking into account the large number of Gambians residing in the Region of Catalonia, Ambassador Yabou proposed for the two sides to have a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) covering some key sectors.
Ambassador Yabou urged the authorities of the Municipality of Blanes and other cities in Catalonia to continue to cooperate more with The Gambia in the areas of education, health, capacity building, agriculture, fisheries, tourism, trade and investment, youth and women empowerment, etc.
In his welcoming remarks during the second segment of the celebrations in the afternoon, Lord Mayor Miguel Lupianez welcomed the Ambassador and everyone to Blanes City and expressed appreciation to the Embassy for choosing Blanesto hostthe celebrations of the 52ndAnniversary of The Gambia’s Independence and the advent of new Gambia under the distinguish Leadership of His Excellency Adama Barrow.
Mayor Miguel revealed that it was the first time in the history of his city to host such an event. He commended the Gambian Community in Blanesfor being law abiding and hardworking and alluded to the existence of unity and harmony between the different nationalities in Blanes.
In his remarks Ambassador Yabou thanked the Lord Mayor and everybody for honouring his invitation and extended greetings from His Excellency The President and people of The Gambia to the gathering.
Ambassador seized the opportunity to pay special homage to all pre-independence leaders for the significant roles they have played in pre and post independent Gambia and also recognised and pay special tribute and gratitude to all leaders and ordinary Gambians both home and abroad who sacrificed their lives, freedom, resources, etc in the struggle for freedom and dignity in The Gambia.
Ambassador Yabou used the occasion to inform the audience about the key areas identified by Government for progress and development in The Gambia as highlighted in His Excellency The President’s independence speech.
The Gambian Envoy informed the gathering that The Gambia has changed for good and the new Gambia under His Excellency Adama Barrow has given Gambians a new lease of life, a Gambia that is ready and committed to once again play its rightful role in the comity of Nations.
Ambassador Yabou therefore called on all Gambians to support the Government of His Excellency President Barrow and to exercise a little bit of patience to allow the Government to deliver the dividends of democracy.
The Ambassador hailed the positive roles played by Spain and Gambians in Spain in the development endeavours of The Gambia and conveyed his thanks and appreciation to the Government and People of Spain particularly the Region of Catalonia and the Gambian community in Spain and their donors for the cooperation and support to The Gambia.
He expresses his hope that with the emergence of a new democratic Government in The Gambia, the two sides will re-energize their interest to ensure increasing engagements in different areas and assured the Gambian community and the Government of Spain of The Gambia’s commitment for increase partnership in certain key areas for the mutual benefits of both sides.
The Gambian Envoy thanked the Government of Spain and the rest of the international community for standing by The Gambia when we needed them most and also singled out the Gambian Diaspora for praises and assured them that their welfare will continue to be a major priority for President Barrow and his Government.
Furthermore, Ambassador Yabou pointed out the importance of education and urged the Gambian community to take the education of their children and women seriously in order to prepare them for a better future.
H.E the Ambassador also advised Gambians to re-focus their energies and time on productive, beneficial and innovative ventures and urged them to continue to pride themselves in hard work, ensuring greater unity, strong family values, reconciliation and patriotism.
Ambassador Yabou also took the opportunity to extend special thanks and appreciation to the Gambian Community in Spain for the continuous support given to him and his team.
A number of speakers expressed their support and loyalty to the Government and thanked the Embassy for its support to the Gambian community.
From Madrid, His Excellency Ambassador Lang Yabou was accompanied to Blanes City by the Embassy staff and representatives of the Gambian Association in Madrid.
Source: Foreign Affairs Ministry
