Middle East Directorate

𝐇.𝐄. 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐨𝐮 𝐍𝐣𝐢𝐞, 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐀𝐟𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐬, 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐬 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐈𝐂 𝐄𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐉𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐚𝐡 𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐉𝐔𝐋,𝟐𝟕𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: On the margins of the Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), His Excellency Sering Modou Njie,Minister of Foreign Affairs,International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad,held a series of high-level bilateral meetings with his counterparts from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,the Republic of Türkiye, the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, the Republic of Iraq, the Federal Republic of Somalia, as well as the Permanent Observer Representative of the State of Palestine to the United NNations, and H. E. the Secretary-General of the OIC. 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢 𝐀𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐚 In his meeting with His Royal Highness Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, H. E. Foreign Minister Njie reaffirmed The Gambia’s unwavering commitment to further deepening the excellent bilateral relations between the two countries, anchored on shared faith and fraternity. He expressed profound appreciation to the Kingdom for its pivotal support towards The Gambia’s successful hosting of the 15th OIC Summit and acknowledged Saudi Arabia’s leading role in supporting the country’s national development initiatives through the Saudi Fund for Development, BADEA, and the Islamic Development Bank. Minister Njie also commended the Kingdom’s excellent leadership in championing the Palestinian cause, particularly its recent co-chairing of the UN Conference on the Two-State Solution. He warmly welcomed the Kingdom’s decision to establish a Resident Embassy in Banjul and reiterated The Gambia’s readiness to facilitate its formal opening. He further highlighted The Gambia’s recent decision to abolish entry visas for Saudi nationals as a means to strengthen people-to-people and economic ties. 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐮̈𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐲𝐞 Foreign Minister Njie expressed The Gambia’s deep appreciation to Türkiye for its continued and unwavering support. He underscored the close coordination between The Gambia, as Chair of the 15th OIC Summit, and Türkiye, as Chair of the 51st Session of the CFM. Minister Njie acknowledged with gratitude Türkiye’s recent pledge of USD 200,000 to support The Gambia’s legal proceedings against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice concerning the plight of the Rohingya people. He reassured his counterpart of The Gambia’s strong commitment to further consolidating the excellent bilateral relations between the two brotherly nations. 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐀𝐟𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐬 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞’𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐨𝐟 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐡   Minister Njie and Adviser Md Touhid Hossain reviewed the strong and growing partnership between The Gambia and Bangladesh, rooted in mutual respect,solidarity, and shared values. They exchanged views on the humanitarian and legal aspects of the Rohingya case, agreeing to continue the joint resource mobilisation for the proceedings at the ICJ. Both sides also decided to convene the next round of Foreign Affairs and Diplomatic Consultations in Dhaka at a mutually convenient date. Foreign Minister Njie further informed of his intention to visit the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh, reaffirming The Gambia’s steadfast commitment to seeking justice for the Rohingya people. Both parties welcomed the recent entry into force of the Visa Exemption Agreement for holders of Diplomatic and Service Passports, signed earlier this year, as a milestone in facilitating closer exchanges. 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐫𝐚𝐪 In his first meeting with His Excellency Fuad Mohammed Hussein, Minister Njie congratulated Iraq on its upcoming Chairmanship of the 52nd Session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers and conveyed The Gambia’s strong support for its success. The two sides discussed the potential for enhanced collaboration in trade, tourism, energy, and investment, agreeing to task their respective teams to finalize bilateral agreements ahead of the 52nd CFM in Baghdad next year. 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚 Minister Njie exchanged views with his Somali counterpart on strengthening bilateral cooperation, enhancing security collaboration, and reinforcing solidarity within the OIC framework. Both sides emphasized their shared vision for advancing peace, stability, and development across the Islamic world. The series of bilateral engagements provided an important opportunity to consolidate The Gambia’s role as Chair of the OIC Summit, strengthen strategic partnerships, and reaffirm its commitment to advancing shared values of peace, justice, and solidarity within the Muslim Ummah. 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐲-𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐂𝐨𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 (𝐎𝐈𝐂) Minister Njie reaffirmed The Gambia’s full support for the Secretary-General’s leadership and expressed appreciation for his unwavering dedication to advancing the interests of the Muslim Ummah. He reiterated The Gambia’s commitment to closely collaborate with the OIC General Secretariat to ensure effective implementation of all adopted resolutions and programs of action. The Minister also assured the Secretary-General of The Gambia’s readiness to co-organize OIC-related activities during its tenure as Chair, in close partnership with the Secretariat and Member States, while commending the invaluable support the OIC has extended to The Gambia. 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 Minister Njie reiterated The Gambia’s full and unwavering support for the just cause of Palestine, reaffirming that the Palestinian question remains at the core of the OIC’sagenda. He recalled The Gambia’s initiative at the 51st Session of the CFM in Istanbul, which led to the adoption of a special resolution in support of accelerating Palestine’s recognition and full UN membership. He reaffirmed The Gambia’s principled support for the Two-State Solution, with East Jerusalem as the capital of an independent Palestinian state, and pledged continued mobilization of international support for the cause. The Gambia also expressed strong backing for the implementation of the New York Declaration and its annexes adopted at the recent UN Conference on the Two-State Solution.