French Ambassador to The Gambia, Christophe Bigot, has paid a farewell visit to the Gambian President Adama Barrow, at the State House on Monday, after completion of his tour of diplomatic duty in the West African nation.
Based in Dakar, Senegal, Ambassador Bigot said his frequent visits to Banjul were borne out of need to support the new Gambia, a decision that France made as early as December 2016 by welcoming President Barrow at the France-Africa Summit in Bamako, followed by his first State visit to Paris.
“We have continued our commitment through several dimensions, with the first visit of the French Foreign Minister to Banjul in November 2018. France is also the first development partner to pledge funds at the Brussels conference as grant to The Gambia worth 55 million Euros,” he explained.
He also disclosed that in early 2020, France will fund a 15 million Euro water supply enhancement project for the Greater Banjul Area through the national water and electricity company (NAWEC). He also said in terms of education, French teachers are also getting assistance to enhance their language teaching capabilities as Gambia has made the decision to be part of the French speaking organization now.
A new French school will be opened this year at the French cultural centre, Alliance Francais. “Gambia’s democracy is very young and it needs to be protected.
That is why we have promoted the training of the Police intervention Unit (PIU) through the office of the National Security Adviser, for 40 officers as a first step,” the diplomat said, noting that such trainings need to go forward in other areas of cooperation.
President Adama Barrow expressed his determination to further strengthen relations between France and the European Union, in the spirit of the new democracy in The Gambia.