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Hon. Ummy Mwalimu (MP), Minister for Health of the United Republic of Tanzania and her delegation landed in The Gambia on Friday, July 12, 2024, as the Special Envoy of Her Excellency Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of the United Republic of Tanzania. Hon. Mwalimu was received by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad, Dr. Mamadou Tangara at the Banjul International Airport. The two discussed pertinent bilateral matters between the two countries and proceeded to meet His Excellency President Adama Barrow to deliver the message from Her Excellency Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan. President Barrow buttressed the importance of the relationship between The Gambia and Tanzania and recognized the great strides being made by Tanzania under the leadership of President Suluhu Hassan. Hon. Mwalimu thanked President Barrow for granting audience to her and her team and expressed that Tanzania looks forward to continued cooperation with The Gambia.

In his opening statement, Dr. Omar Alieu Touray, President of the ECOWAS Commission, mentioned that at the recently concluded ambassadorial preparatory meeting, extensive deliberations were held on the Commission's efforts in addressing developments in the political, security, and humanitarian situation of the sub-region. Furthermore, Dr. Touray announced that the upcoming ECOWAS Summit will consider Memoranda on the sub-region's political, peace, and security situation. The Summit will also critically assess the Memorandum on the operationalisation of the ECOWAS Security Architecture and the report of the meeting of Finance and Defense Ministers. The Nigerian Foreign Affairs Minister, His Excellency Yusuf Tuggar, who doubles as the Chairman of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers, highlighted terrorism as one of the major threats the Community is facing. he urged the meeting to adopt appropriate response measures in addressing the challenges being faced by the member states. Minister Tuggar said, “ it is crucial for every country within ECOWAS, including those in the Sahelian belt, to understand that the fight against terrorism is not the burden of a few but a collective responsibility. Therefore, we must remain united and demonstrate

On Wednesday, 26th June 2024, His Excellency Dr. Mamadou Tangara, Minister for Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad received the Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, His Excellency Jose Manuel Albares Bueno, and his delegation at his office in Banjul. H.E Bueno’s visit to The Gambia entailed a series of high-level engagements with top government officials, including His Excellency President Adama Barrow. During these meetings, H.E Bueno indicated that West Africa is a priority region for Spain and commended The Gambia for promoting and being an example of peace and stability within the sub-region. Dr. Tangara welcomed H.E Bueno and his delegation to The Gambia and reaffirmed the country’s commitment to strengthening the collaboration between the two countries. The Ministers and technicians had discussions on health, education, migration, security, anti-crime as well as democracy, human rights issues, and economic and business relations between The Gambia and Spain.

A delegation led by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad, His Excellency Dr. Mamadou Tangara will be in Bissau from 26 – 28 June 2024 to participate in the Fourth Joint Commission between the Republic of The Gambia and the Republic of Guinea Bissau. The Joint Commission will serve as an excellent interlocutor to jointly examine and agree on the modalities for mutually beneficial cooperation and collaboration between the Governments and Peoples of the two countries. Discussions will be focused on strategic sectors of the economies of the Republic of The Gambia and the Republic of Guinea Bissau and on elevating the historic and friendly ties that exist between the peoples of the two countries. Minister Dr. Tangara will be accompanied by senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad and other Ministries and institutions of the Government of The Gambia.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad, Hon. Dr. Mamadou Tangara participated in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Arria-Formula meeting on: “Combating the Rise of Terrorism and Violent Extremism in West Africa and the Sahel and the PeaceBuilding Commission (PBC) meeting of the 2025 review of the peacebuilding architecture citing The Gambia as a case study. The meetings were held on the 19th and 20th of June, 2024 respectively at the United Nations (UN) Headquarters in New York. The Hon. Minister in his deliberation at the UNSC Arria-Formula on combating the rise of terrorism and violence acknowledges that the Sahel region is ravaged by violent extremism, which threatens to destabilize the neighboring coastal states and risk extensive security spillovers. He urged Member States to act swiftly and decisively to build a wall of resilience against this insidious threat, citing that the fight against terrorism in West Africa and the Sahel demands a global, regional, sub-regional and national commitment. He proposed that the international community must strengthen national and regional capabilities, fostering robust information and intelligence sharing networks and joint military patrols amongst coastal and Sahelian states. At the meeting on the peacebuilding architecture review, Hon. Minister Dr. Tangara underscored the need for the 2025 Review to be innovative for the continued relevance of the Commission and strengthening relations with Member States and International Financial Institutions (IFIs). He asserted that the unique action by the PBC in The Gambia in 2017 made it and the Peace Building Fund popular for complementing domestic efforts to put countries on the right track of building national resilience. He buttressed the importance of peacebuilding as a continuous process and the need to accommodate the involvement of individuals and communities, noting the review must sufficiently consider approaching every situation differently because no one size fits all.

On Monday, 10th June 2024, a team from the Global Fund in Geneva, Switzerland, paid a courtesy visit to the Honourable Minister for Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Dr. Mamadou Tangara. The purpose of the visit was to update the Honourable Minister on the recent activities of the institution in The Gambia. The delegation, led by Ms. Ada Faye, Chief Financial Officer of the Global Fund, gave an overview of their activities in The Gambia thus far as well as upcoming activities. Ms. Faye reaffirmed their commitment to continue complementing the efforts of the Government of The Gambia towards the further development of the education and health sectors. Additionally, she commended the Government of The Gambia for its support in facilitating their work in the country. The team also commended the support of the Ministry through the Embassy and Permanent Mission of The Gambia in Geneva by regularly participating in high-level meetings on the activities of the Fund. For his part, the Honourable Minister for Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Dr. Mamadou Tangara, welcomed the delegation and commended their work both in the country and through their regional partnerships. Dr. Tangara also assured them of the commitment of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to supporting the programmes of the Global Fund and consolidating regional initiatives to enhance engagements in health diplomacy and programmes aimed at supporting the health sector of The Gambia.

The President of the Republic of Korea, His Excellency, Yoon Suk-yeol, joined by Her Excellency, Madam Kim Keon-hee, First Lady of the Republic of Korea officially welcomed His Excellency, Dr. Mamadou Tagara, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of The Gambia to Seoul at a welcome Reception. Dr. Tangara representing His Excellency, the President of the Republic of The Gambia, Mr. Adama Barrow joined other African Presidents, Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers who are also attending the 2024 Korea – Africa Summit in Seoul, the Republic of Korea. This year’s Summit is the maiden Korea-Africa Summit organized by the Republic of Korea to bolster bilateral cooperation and promote development cooperation under the Theme “The Future We Make Together – Shared Growth, Sustainability and Solidarity.”