By AdamaMakasuba
Dr Ebrahim Jagne, leader of the All People’s Party (APP), has urged the government to minimise its embassies around the world to save resources. He added that the country doesn’t need many embassies.
According to him, the government should try to establish a foreign service agreement with the Senegalese government to get a Gambian official working for the country in the Senegalese embassies around the world.
“We should have an arrangement with Senegal to make sure that we have a Gambian official who will work with the Senegalese officials in their embassies to save resources for the country. Because, the two countries have the same people. We are related to each other,” he said.
“For this small country, we should not even try embassies around the world. It is very expensive. The government should close many of its embassies because they are not very important to the country and they consume too many resources.
“The government should try to have a Foreign Service agreement with the government of Senegal where Gambian officials will work with their Senegalese counterparts. Prioritising is very important. For this small country, it is just like a district in some countries. The Gambia should have been developed by now,” he added.
Meanwhile, he narrated his experience saying “I can remember in 1972 when I was returning from Taiwan, we arrived in Rome, Italy, and I had some date issue on my passport. So, I went to the Senegalese embassy for help, but they didn’t help because they said they are there for only Senegalese. I had to go to the police to report the airline to give us a hotel to stay,”