The Director General of Bureau IV (African Affairs) of the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Mr. Wang Heming recently concluded a working visit to The Gambia accompanied by his delegation.
As part of the visit, Mr Heming met with the Permanent Secretary I of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad, Ambassador Lang Yabou. In receiving the delegation at his Office, Ambassador Yabou welcomed them to The Gambia and the Ministry on behalf of His Excellency, Dr. Mamadou Tangara, Minister of Foreign Affairs.
PS Yabou in his opening statement pointed out that, “The Gambia and the People’s Republic of China continue to build people to people ties with The Gambia hosting Chinese nationals and businesses that contribute to employment, skills-transfer and domestic revenue mobilization.”
He continued by adding that the visit by Director Wang would further solidifies the relationship between China and The Gambia which is determined by mutual trust through political dialogue and win-win outcomes in economic cooperation, communication and social connections.
The Social connections through civil communications such as the People to People exchanges could be arguably regarded as one of the most attractive exchanges in international relations, the value of which, has been recognized in an increasing world politics.
Cognizant of this fact, people-to-people exchanges returned to a normal state and became an important driving force in stabilizing and developing healthy bilateral relations between The Gambia and China with a huge number of Gambians and Chinese exchanging visits and doing business together.
Such exchanges have enhanced mutual understanding and trust between our two peoples from different civilizations and cultivated long-term friendships through sincere and candid dialogues resulting in positive experiences and insights in a broad sense.
The continuous dispatch of the medical team to The Gambia for 7 consecutive batches under the existing protocol, reaffirmed the degree of social connection that has been achieved through People-to-People Exchanges.
Similarly, the strong bond of our relationship manifest itself in the High-Level Visits, with His Excellency President Adama Barrow and many Gambian Ministers and Senior Official’s visits to China and the visits to The Gambia by His Excellency Foreign Minister, Wang Yi as well as, the Special Representative of His Excellency President XI, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, Mr. Zheng Jianbang, to attend the 15th OIC Islamic Summit in Banjul from 4th -5th May 2024.
‘‘Director General WANG, on behalf of the Government of His Excellency, President Adama Barrow, I want to once again reassure the Government and People of China of The Gambia’s commitment to One China Policy. This is a policy that we are committed to and The Gambia will continue to provide its support to China’’ posited Ambassador Yabou.
In addition, PS Yabou acknowledged China’s leadership and support to members of the Global South and thanked the Government and People of China for the support and partnership with The Gambia especially in the areas of health, education, infrastructure, agriculture, etc.
Permanent Secretary Yabou also conveys appreciation to the staff of the Chinese Embassy in Banjul and The Gambia Embassy in Beijing for their roles in strengthening China-Gambia relations and pointed out that, The Gambia will continue to work closely with the government of the People’s Republic of China to further strengthen the bilateral ties and multilateral engagements between the two countries.
Finally, Ambassador Yabou wished Director Wang a successful stay in The Gambia and wished the Government and People of China the best as they prepare to host the FOCAC Summit which The Gambia will participate in.