His Excellency Pa Musa Jobarteh, the Ambassador of the Republic of The Gambia to the Kingdom of Belgium and the European Union with concurrent accreditation to the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia on Thursday 15 February, 2024 presented his Letters of Credence to the President of Czech Republic, His Excellency Petr Pavel, as the Ambassador of the Republic of The Gambia to Czech Republic at a ceremony held in the Presidential Palace in Prague.
H.E Ambassador Jobarteh conveyed fraternal greetings from His Excellency President Adama Barrow to the President, the Government and people of Czech Republic. He underscored his willingness to work with the Czech Republic to further strengthen the existing bilateral ties between the two countries.
During a tête-à-tête with the President, Ambassador Jobarteh discussed many areas of cooperation that Czech Republic and The Gambia can mutually benefit, including higher education, health, sports, tourism and labour migration. He expressed The Gambia’s interest in scientific innovation and industrialization. “Scholarships to Gambians in Czech Universities will greatly contribute to the socio-economic development of the country,” he underscored.
Ambassador Jobarteh also requested for support from the Czech Republic at the European Union. Czech Republic being a key member of The European Union could support the interest of The Gambia.
For his part, His Excellency President Petr Pavel welcomed Ambassador Jobarteh to Czech Republic and congratulated him on his appointment as the Ambassador of the Republic of The Gambia to Czech Republic. He took note of the developing political and economic situation of The Gambia and acknowledged Czech Republic’s commitment to supporting The Gambia’s development plans.
In a similar development, His Excellency Mustapha Jawara, on Wednesday, 31 January 2024 presented his letters of credence to His Excellency Mohammed Shahabuddin, President of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, accrediting him as High Commissioner of The Gambia to Bangladesh. During the discussion with President Shahabuddin at the Presidential Palace in Dhaka, High Commissioner Jawara conveyed fraternal greetings and best wishes of the President of the Republic of The Gambia, President Adama Barrow, to his counterpart President Mohammed Shahabuddin.
High Commissioner Jawara expressed gratitude for being the second Gambian High Commissioner of The Gambia to Bangladesh and assured President Shahabuddin that he would work to strengthen the already cordial bilateral relations between Bangladesh and The Gambia.
For his part, President Mohammed Shahabuddin expressed his delight in receiving the High Commissioner to Bangladesh. He said the two countries share long-standing relations through the United Nations, Commonwealth, and Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), where they have cooperated on several occasions. President Shahabuddin expressed thanks to The Gambia for taking courageous legal action through the International Court of Justice against Myanmar on the rights of the Rohingya. He said his country has supported The Gambia and will continue to do so until the Rohingyas are free to return to their homeland. The president also said Bangladesh is keen to work on economic cooperation with friendly nations to explore mutual benefits.
High Commissioner Jawara later held talks with Honourable Madam Sheik Hasina, Prime Minister (PM), and leader of the Government of the Republic of Bangladesh. He conveyed the fraternal greeting and best wishes of the Gambian President Adama Barrow to her. During the meeting, the two parties discussed ways of strengthening and fostering economic cooperation between the Gambia and Bangladesh. PM Hasina said the Gambia and Bangladesh share long-standing relations through the United Nations, the Gambia Commonwealth, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). H.E. Mr. Mustapha Jawara reminded the Prime Minister about the OIC summit in the Gambia in May 2024. H.E. Jawara requested support from the Bangladeshi Government for the candidacy of Gambian Foreign Minister Muhammed Tangara for the Commonwealth Secretary General post later this year.
H.E. the High Commissioner also held bilateral talks with Foreign Minister Mr. A.F.M Zahid–Ul–Islam at the Bangladesh Foreign Service Academy, and their discussions centred on:
- General Framework of Cooperation Agreement between the two countries
- Close cooperation on the Myanmar – Rohingya Refugee Crisis
- Visa Waiver Agreement
High Commissioner Jawara also held engagements with the Minister of Textiles and Jute, Minister of Education and Ministers of Land. While in Dhaka, High Commissioner Jawara later witnessed the 12th opening of the Bangladesh Parliament and held talks with the Speaker of Parliament. During discussions, the High Commissioner called for collaboration between the parliaments of both countries.
Similarly, H.E. Jawara held fruitful discussions during a courtesy visit to the Director General of the Rohingya Refugee division of the Ministry of External Affairs. He visited the Islamic University of Technology - OIC, where he held fruitful discussions with the Vice-Chancellor and students from The Gambia who are all on OIC scholarship. The Vice Chancellor applauded the excellent behaviour of Gambian students and agreed to the suggestion to work with OIC for more slots for Gambian students. High Commissioner thanked the Vice-Chancellor and team for their support and trust in the Gambian Government and the Gambian students.
During his engagement with the Gambian students, High Commissioner Jawara took note of their concerns and thanked them for being good ambassadors of the Gambia.
His Excellency, High Commissioner Jawara, was accompanied by his spouse, Madam Oumie Fatty, and Second Secretary, Mr. Omar Sompo Ceesay.
