Welcome President Ma!

We sincerely wish to welcome the President of ROC Ma Ying-jeou to The Republic of The Gambia.

Despite being far away geographically, Taiwan and The Gambia have shown the world that nothing can separate them as true and sincere friends should be.

The cordial relationship that exists between The Gambia and the Republic of China on Taiwan has, and will continue to go from strength to strength, if this visit of President Ma is anything to go by.

The Gambia has long been a strong ally of Taiwan, and continues to benefit from the generosity of the people of the Republic of China on Taiwan in many aspects, most specifically in the crucial and national priority areas of Health, Education, Agriculture and Infrastructure development.

In education, ROC provides numerous scholarships to Gambians, both at the University of The Gambia and in Taiwan, to pursue degree courses in various fields.

Taiwan also provides huge sums of money to the President’s Empowerment of Girls Education Project (PEGEP) on an annual basis.

Annually, the ROC also provides millions of dalasis to support the country’s higher education sector.

In the field of health, ROC provides millions of dalasis every year, to boost quality health care service delivery in The Gambia.

Taiwanese medical teams also visit the country annually to offer free medical services to Gambian communities.

The construction of many first class roads in The Gambia has0 been supported by the Government of the ROC.

The Taiwan Agriculture Technical Mission in the country has also been based in the country permanently for many years now, and has been contributing significantly to the country’s food self-sufficiency efforts.

They provide fertiliser and seed nuts, transfer new knowledge and techniques to the local farmers.

We believe that with all these and many development assistance being offered to The Gambia by the Government and people of Taiwan, President Ma and delegation deserve a tumultuous welcome from the Gambian people.

Meanwhile, The Gambia continues to support ROC to have meaningful participation and representation in international bodies.

Despite being a poor country, The Gambia has indeed shown to the whole world that our relationship with Taiwan is a two-way process that is based on true friendship, trust and mutual benefit.

In 2009, The Gambia donated seven hundred thousand US Dollars to the Republic of China on Taiwan as the government’s contributions towards mitigating the effects of the typhoon disaster that hit the island nation.

The visit of President Ma and delegation would, no doubt, deepen and strengthen our mutually beneficial relations for the good of both countries and peoples.

We, therefore, say a Big Welcome President Ma and Delegation; Please Feel at Home!