By Theresa Kef Sesay
Dr. Mamadou Tangara, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad, on the 14th July 2021 signed a Joint Commission with the Internal Affairs Minister of the Republic of Sierra Leone, David Panda Noah, at his office in Banjul.
The signed Joint Commission is meant to strengthen cooperation between the two countries in the areas of economic development, trade and investment policies, financial services, information and intelligence sharing, education, health, tourism and culture, infrastructure development, security and military, agriculture, agro-processing, forestry and livestock development, fisheries and maritime resources, science, technology and innovation, youth and sports, local Government and issues of traditional Leaders, migration and settlement of the nationals of the two countries.
Prior to the signing of the Joint Commission, the Hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Mamadou Tangara, welcomed the Sierra Leonean delegation to the country and assured them of the commitment of H.E President Adama Barrow and his counterpart President Julius Maada Bio in developing their countries. He said the Sierra Leonean delegation’s coming to The Gambia was an indication of the excellent bilateral ties between Banjul and Freetown.
Minister Tangara informed the delegation that President Barrow’s intention and focus is to leave a legacy that would be the envy of the world. This, he added, is based on consolidating democracy and to improve the socio-economic status of Gambians.
The Honourable Minister used the opportunity to return gratitude to Sierra Leone for the immense contribution it made to the development of the human resource base of The Gambia through education. Many Gambians in the past decades did their studies in Colleges and Universities in Sierra Leone through scholarships.
For his part, the Internal Affairs Minister and Head of Delegation, Panda Noah thanked the Government and the people of The Gambia for the warm welcome. He said the trip was possible as a result of the shared opinion of the two Presidents in developing their respective countries. “It is time to put words into action,” he posited.
The Gambian High Commission in Sierra Leone negotiated and facilitated the delegation’s visit.
