The Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad, His Excellency Dr. Mamadou Tangara, Wednesday, 11th June 2025, participated in the Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Ministerial Coordinators Meeting on the Implementation of the 2024 FOCAC Summit Outcomes.
The meeting aimed to accelerate the implementation of the outcomes of the 2024 FOCAC Beijing Summit (Beijing Action Plan 2025-2028 including the following Ten Partnership Actions) : mutual learning among civilizations, trade prosperity, industrial change cooperation., connectivity, development cooperation, health, agriculture and livelihoods, people-to-people and cultural exchanges, green development, and common security. The core objectives of the ten partnership actions include enhancing economic collaboration, promoting technological exchange, and supporting Africa’s developmental agenda, particularly in addressing the continent’s unique challenges.
In his opening remarks, H.E. Dr. Tangara extended warm and fraternal greetings from H.E. Adama Barrow, President of the Republic of The Gambia to H.E. Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China. He expressed gratitude to H.E. Wang Yi, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, and the Government of the People’s Republic of China for the hospitality and for the various bilateral assistance to The Gambia over the years. Hon. Tangara further congratulated China and Africa for reaching the important milestone of the 25th anniversary of FOCAC.
Reflecting on the objectives of the meeting, Dr. Tangara recognized and appreciated the support from the Government of the People’s Republic of China in providing 360 billion Yuan of financial support to implement the ten partnership actions put forward by President Xi during the FOCAC Beijing Summit in 2024 as well as all the other financial assistance constituting China’s financial cooperation with Africa.
Minister Tangara equally lauded the achievements in implementing the trade prosperity partnership action resulting in the signing of trade agreements between China and African countries including The Gambia, geared towards boosting trade between China and Africa by granting custom tariffs from zero to 100% of product categories.
Consequently, Dr. Tangara witnessed the signing of the Protocol on the Exportation of Shelled Groundnut as well as the Protocol for the Exportation of Cashew to China signed by Honourable Baboucarr Ousmaila Joof, Minister of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration & Employment on behalf of the Government of The Gambia. This was preceded by the signing of the Framework Agreement for Economic Shared Development between China and the Gambia. The signing of the agreements is a significant achievement in the trade cooperation between The Gambia and China, which allows agricultural products from The Gambia to access Chinese markets.
Speaking on the partnership action for agricultural modernization, H.E Minister Tangara highlighted the importance of agricultural modernization for The Gambia adding that the plan to support Africa’s Agricultural Modernisation in line with the AU 2063 agenda, will enhance food security, local production and rural transformation.
The Honourable Minister, in evaluating the partnership action for common security, acknowledged that no meaningful development could be achieved in the absence of Peace and Security and therefore, commended FOCAC for its strong focus on peace and security as a priority, showing the growing dimension of cooperation between China and Africa beyond economic cooperation in addressing critical issues such as regional stability, counterterrorism, and capacity building.
In conclusion, Dr. Tangara expressed the Republic of The Gambia’s alignment with the Changsha Joint declaration and reassured the Peoples’ Republic of China of the Republic of The Gambia’s commitment to the one-China principle.
In a separate engagement, Honourable Tangara also held a bilateral meeting with H.E. Chen Xiaodong, Director of the China International Development Cooperation Agency to discuss the project pool offered to the Gambia and other bilateral cooperation including the acceleration of the implementation of the Greater Banjul Transmission and Distribution Project, Agricultural Mechanization Project amongst other infrastructural development projects.
Minister Joof equally held a bilateral meeting with H.E Tang Wenhong, Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Commerce of China and engaged in an in-depth exchange of views on the Joint Implementation of the partnership action on Trade prosperity between The Gambia and China. Hon. Joof expressed delight in the signing of the trade agreements and alluded that its implementation starts in earnest. He further commended China for their success story in industrialization process. He invited China’s expertise to support The Gambiaโs journey to industrialization through technology transfer and knowledge sharing.
For his part, H.E. Wenhong acknowledged the strong political cooperation between our two countries and recalled the meeting between President XI and President Barrow in Beijing during the 2024 FOCAC Summit in which the bilateral cooperation between Gambia and China were discussed at the highest level. He also thanked Minister Joof for proposing the bilateral meeting and pledged China’s support to The Gambia’s quest for industrialisation.
During a reception hosted by H.E. Wang Yi in honour of the delegates, Minister Tangara engaged in a side discussion with his counterpart on strengthening bilateral relations with China.
H.E. Massaneh N Kinteh, the Ambassador of the Embassy of the Republic of The Gambia in Beijing, actively participated in all the events.