#Editorial

Boosting Gambia-China relations!

Aug 12, 2021, 12:21 PM

The Gambia and China have been close allies in a variety of fields since the resumption of diplomatic ties in 2016. In making the South-South cooperation a reality, the two countries have committed to move these mutually excellent bilateral relations to another height.

In today’s field of diplomacy, boosting ties between nations is an integral component in yielding fruitful results. No man is an island and same applies to countries- no nation can stand alone.

To guarantee the development we want, there is need to open up and forge alliance based on mutual trust, agreement and to the best interest of our respective citizens.

There is no doubt the Gambia-China relation, which symbolises mutual trust in a vast field of human development, would and continue to represent such South-South cooperation ideals.

In making the Gambia-China relations a long standing one, The Gambia remains resolute to look inwards at new areas that can make the cooperation a progressive one.

Yes, The Gambia –China relations dates back to the 60’s, the two countries have success stories to narrate.

The recent forum dubbed: Framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) is in that pursuit.

It is a fact that China has been a strong partner of The Gambia in terms of initiating development programmes.

Over the past years, Chinese companies have been and are still doing business in The Gambia. This goes to show that the South-South cooperation is still alive and well.

As alluded to by The Gambia’s ambassador to Peoples Republic of China Masanneh Nyuku Kinteh at the recent Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), the country has made progress in trade, investment, development assistance and human resource cooperation,  among a host of others.

Beside, the two countries have also signed a number of trade agreements; the recent being the agreement..

This is in line with the empowering Public Private Partnership to enable Chinese businesses collaborate and network with their Gambian counterparts in boosting trade ties.

We therefore call on the two countries to nurture this cooperation based on mutual trust. However, we still want to see more companies coming and investing in the Smiling Coast of Africa to create job opportunities for the country’s youth.

"I am convinced that material things can contribute a lot to making one's life pleasant, but, basically, if you do not have very good friends and relatives who matter to you, life will be really empty and sad and material things cease to be important."

David Rockefeller