State House, Banjul, 16th April 2019 – President of the Republic of The Gambia on Tuesday, 16th April 2019, received diplomatic credentials from ambassadors from the Republic of Congo, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, and Republic of Cabo Verde.
Republic of Congo
President Barrow and Ambassador Luc Jean Saint Vito Aka Evy discussed potential areas of collaboration for the mutual benefit of the peoples of the two countries. The President argued that African countries have enough experience to share amongst themselves in order to forge stronger partnerships. He expressed commitment to strengthening the cooperation in the areas of health, education, and economic sectors.
Ambassador Extraordinaire of Cabo Verde, His Excellency, Prof. Saint Vito Aka Evy told the waiting press that The Gambia and Republic of Congo share “a good, strong relationship”. He expressed commitment to making the relationship even more visible, adding that he will give priority to cultural, fisheries as well as educational cooperation between the two countries.
Republic of Vietnam
President Barrow told the Vietnamese ambassador that he welcomed potential collaboration and learning experience in the area of rice production taking into account the global successes of Vietnam in that area. He also encouraged the private sector of the Southeast Asian nation to invest in the country, especially in the area of cashew production.
Ambassador Pham Quoc Tru, on his part, said the two countries enjoy a long tradition of an excellent relationship, committing to strengthening bilateral ties, particularly in areas of maritime, tourism, agriculture, education, health, among other sectors.
“We have great potentials to exploit between our two countries. In terms of cooperation, Vietnam and The Gambia’s ties have significantly developed. In 2017, the trade volume between the two countries rose to $24million,” he said, noting that The Gambia is one of the countries that have strong trade links with Vietnam.
Republic of Cabo Verde
President Barrow discussed with the Cabo Verdean ambassador ways of strengthening the existing relations at both bilateral and multilateral levels, including ECOWAS. He expressed admiration for the high level political maturity and democracy that obtains in the country, citing the prestigious MO Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership, which was awarded to the country’s former president. He said the award serves as a great lesson for other African leaders to continue to work for the interest of their people. “There is no excuse for Africa… We have the necessary human resource base to build strong institutions,” he said while calling for experience sharing in the areas of tourism and other economic activities.
Ambassador Inacio Felina Rosa De Carvalho said the tourism sector can be a great opportunity of collaboration for the benefit of both countries. Other sectors that could be exploited are basalt and sand resources.
