President Jammeh to visit Taiwan

President Yahya Jammeh is set to visit the Republic of China (Taiwan) in June this year.

This was disclosed by the Gambian leader on Saturday at Ming Daw Senior School in Farato in response to an invitation extended to him by the visiting ROC President Ma Ying-jeou.

President Ma has extended this invitation to his Gambian counterpart to attend the graduation of five military academies in the ROC during which some Gambian students will also be graduated.

“I can assure you, Mr. President I will reciprocate your generosity, to continue our friendship,” President Ma told President Jammeh.

“I want to assure you of our continued support and friendship. Long live The Gambia-Taiwan friendship,” Ma added.

In his address, President Jammeh maintained that the relations between the two countries have gone beyond diplomatic relations.

“Taiwan has been a household name in The Gambia, even before 1994,” he said, adding that the ROC has seen The Gambia as a country with potentials.

According to him, the ROC has changed the lives of many people in Africa and the Caribbean.

“I assure you that I will honour your invitation. We will always stand by you,” said President Jammeh.

The event, he said, was historic and would, therefore, attend and do more exercises with his counterpart as they did in The Gambia.

President Jammeh has visited Taiwan on many occasions likewise the Vice President and most of his cabinet ministers.

The Gambian leader emphasised that the country under his leadership will never succumb to cheque-book diplomacy, and that the country will never be re-colonised.

The Gambia, Jammeh said, would continue to fight for the cause of Taiwan at international fora, to ensure the ROC participates meaningfully in various UN specialised agencies.

The two leaders were speaking at the end of the visit of President Ma to Ming Daw Junior and Senior Secondary School in Farato.

The school, according to its Principal Mrs. Ndela Carr, has an enrolment of 1,655 students in the junior section, and 826 in the senior category.

Mrs. Carr, who was speaking to The Point shortly after the visit of President Ma, said the school had been supported by Ming Daw Culture Centre in Taiwan through the building of classroom blocks and the provision of books. The centre, she added, also helps the community with a clinic.

Mrs Carr was overjoyed to receive two presidents in her school at the same time, she said, adding that the school needs a multi-purpose centre, which could also be used by the community.

This paper has learned that President Jammeh before his departure from Ming Daw had discussed with the Minister of Works, in the presence of the regional education director and school principal, for possible assistance to the school, particularly with regard to roofing and fixing windows.