By: Mariama Njie
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Momodou Tangara has disclosed that Germany’s Minister of Interior has informed a Gambian delegation that over 4000 Gambians are required to leave Germany.
Dr Tangara stated this while answering questions from Gambian lawmakers.
He said: “Members may recall a joint delegation comprising officials of my Ministry and some members of the select committee on foreign affairs who embarked on a fact-finding mission to the Federal Republic of Germany from the 9th to the 16th of February 2020 on matters of irregular migration with the relevant German authorities.”
He explained that the delegation was informed by the German Minister of Interior that there were 15,534 Gambians residing in Germany as of 31st of December 2019. Out of this number, 4,837 are required to leave Germany, 4,271 Gambians have their deportation temporarily suspended, 1,133 have applied for asylum, 333 asylum applications are currently being processed by the federal office for migration and refugees.
Tangara added that: “four thousand, eight hundred and sixty-eight are under appeal before the German courts. At the state level of Batenwuttenberg, the Gambian delegation was informed that 25 Gambians have been convicted of criminal offences.”
He went on that following the return of the delegation, a comprehensive report was prepared and submitted to the office of the president. The delegation also had a meeting with the president to further brief him on the conclusion of the visit, he said.
“Acting on the recommendation of the report, the office of the president assigned the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to work with all relevant stakeholders to develop a memorandum of understanding in the area of migration between The Gambia and the Federal Republic of Germany,” he added.
More so, he said “Acting on the recommendation of the report, the office of the president assigned the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to work with all relevant stakeholders to develop a memorandum of understanding in the area of migration between The Gambia and the Federal Republic of Germany.
He stated that, a draft MoU was developed and circulated to relevant stakeholders, adding once this process is completed, the document will be presented to the relevant German authorities to kick-start negotiation on the proposed MoU.