President Adama Barrow received the Letters of Credence of four ambassadors from the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, the Czech Republic, the Republic of Namibia, and the Hellenic Republic of Greece, on Thursday, 15th June 2022, at the State House in Banjul.

Ambassadors Masudur Rahman of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Marek Skolil of the Czech Republic, Elvis Toolouto Shiweda of the Republic of Namibia, and Efhymois Georges Costopoulos of the Hellenic Republic of Greece all presented and had their Letters of Credence accepted by the President.

In receiving the letters of Credence, President Barrow urged the ambassadors to make good of The Gambia’s strategic location and peaceful and democratic disposition to expand trade and investment opportunities for the benefit of our countries.  He also called on them to build on people-to-people relations and cooperation by the private sector in The Gambia and their respective countries.

After meeting with President Barrow, Ambassador Rahman said The Gambia and Bangladesh have a long history of cooperation within various UN agencies and as members of the OIC and the Non-Aligned Movement.  Ambassador Rahman said Bangladesh is proud of The Gambia’s leadership role in the OIC, particularly its stance in the fight against the injustice meted out to the Rohingya people by the government of Myanmar.  He said The Gambia and Bangladesh could cooperate further in the agricultural sector to boost economic growth for both countries.

Ambassador Skolil said he looks forward to cooperation between The Gambia and the Czech Republic to industrialize and mechanize agriculture and support the education and health sectors.  He hailed the peace and tranquility of The Gambia, noting that the country now enjoys an unprecedented level of democracy and development.

Ambassador Shiweda, on his part, said Namibia is interested in developing trade links with The Gambia.  He said there are a lot of products that the two countries can trade for their mutual benefit and economic development.

Ambassador Shiweda said Namibia is thankful to The Gambia for its support during the country’s struggle for independence.  He said a good number of Namibians were hosted and educated in the Gambia, and those people are now the doctors, teachers, and political leaders in Namibia.  Ambassador Shiweda said he wants to build on that strong bilateral foundation between The Gambia and Namibia.

Ambassador Costopoulos said Greece wants to establish trade and business relations with The Gambia, particularly in the agriculture, construction, and tourism sectors.  He said Greece imports a lot of fish from West Africa and hoped this new relationship with The Gambia would lead to a mutually beneficial one for both countries.