By: Momodou Justice Darboe
President Adama Barrow received two foreign ambassadors from Switzerland and Türkiye at the State House in Banjul during a lineup of diplomatic engagements on Tuesday, according to a press release issued by State House on Wednesday.
According to No. 1 Marina Parade, the Ambassador of Switzerland, H.E. Andrea Semadeni, had an in-depth discussion with President Barrow on ongoing issues such as the transitional justice programme, security sector reforms, migration, and the excellent relationship between The Gambia and Switzerland.
“President Barrow commended the long-standing and friendly relations between The Gambia and Switzerland. He reiterated his government’s commitment at the highest level to the TRRC processes in ensuring “justice and reparation are accorded to victims”, thus looking forward to the conclusions of the ongoing court processes in Switzerland involving The Gambia’s former Interior Minister, Ousman Sonko,” stated the release.
“Furthermore, the President added that the Security Sector Reform process is ongoing, stating with the required support, the reforms would change the narratives in the sector by measuring up to international standards,” added the release.
According to the release, President Barrow emphasized the importance of building confidence through job creation and skills training for the youth, providing a development perspective of migration. The Gambian leader, the release said, noted that some Diaspora Gambians are taking advantage of the democratic environment to return home and invest in securing livelihoods and self-empowerment.
“Ambassador Andrea expressed his satisfaction with the progress made by the Barrow administration in various areas of development, especially infrastructure,” stated the release.
It continued: “Bidding farewell to the Turkish Diplomat, H.E Mr Tolga Bermek, in a separate diplomatic engagement, President Barrow commended the excellent and fruitful relationship between The Gambia and Türkiye, citing the high-level exchanged state visits between him and his counterpart, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The bilateral relationship yielded fruitful and mutual benefits to both countries, including trade, air transport and capacity building in various fields.”
President Barrow, according to the despatch, used the occasion to congratulate the President of Turkiye on his re-election and renewed his friendship and cooperation with the President, the government and the people of Türkiye.
“Ambassador Tolga Bermek hailed President Barrow for his outstanding contribution to fostering robust diplomatic relations between The Gambia and Türkiye, pointing to past successes, including facilitating the visit of President Erdoğan to The Gambia in 2020 and training of 500 military personnel and others in preparation for the upcoming OIC Summit in The Gambia in May this year,” the release stated.
“The two countries’ relations have been characterised by mutual cooperation in capacity building, technology, trade and capacity building and human resource development, among other areas.
“Both Ambassadors concluded by appreciating the warmness of the Gambian people in creating a friendly environment for them,” concluded the release.