Goodbye to Ambassador Wells

It is with heavy hearts that we bid farewell to Ambassador Barry L. Wells, the outgoing Ambassador of the United States of America to The Gambia, who is expected to leave Banjul today for Washington after the successful end of his tenure in The Gambia.

Like every Gambian, we wish to extend our sincere gratitude to him and his staff for a job well-done, especially in areas covering bilateral relationships between the two countries.

We will remember his achievements with great joy, as he devoted his tenure to cementing the already existing relationship between Washington and Banjul. He was a visionary who saw the need that development, particularly on education was an important factor in nation-building.

Let us pay our gratitude to him now by continuing to focus on that dream and unify in a very real way among ourselves.

"I believe both the government of The Gambia and government of the United States of America have enjoyed very good and fruitful relations. We certainly have the opportunity to discuss issues that are of paramount importance to us and are able to address those issues in a very cordial and professional way," Wells told our reporter in an interview yesterday.

This is laudable as cordial relations between the two countries will go a long way in boosting trade and other important sectors for the mutual benefit of the two countries. While wishing Ambassador Wells and the family safe journey back home, we hope and pray that the Gambia-US relations continue to grow from strength to strength.

We, therefore, urge the American Embassy in The Gambia to continue the good work Ambassador Well has left unfinished during this sojourn, and wish him success in his endeavours.

We equally urge the government to nurture and foster the already established good relations between the two countries, and develop on those areas where there are lapses for the mutual benefit of all.

"For he is one of Nature's Gentlemen, the best of every time"

Brander Matthews