Preceding the signing ceremony, the President of TBEA, Mr Xiao Zhi led the Gambian leader and delegation on a conducted tour of a digital presentation of the company’s activities, sharing its experience in the green energy sector, including the building of the Jambur Solar plant in The Gambia.
First Lady Fatoumatta Bah-Barrow, Cabinet Ministers, Ambassador Madame Kinteh, Chief of Staff Mod K Ceesay and representatives of the business community of The Gambia and staff of the Gambian Embassy in China accompanied President Barrow and were honoured with an elaborate lunch at the TBEA office.
In an earlier engagement, President Barrow received representatives of Gambian Students in China at his Hotel. The leader of the students, Mr Omar Nget outlined their concerns including delays in receiving their scholarships and requested stipends for self-sponsoring students. Also, he informed President Barrow of the cordial relationship the student body has with the Gambian embassy in China and thanked them for their support.
President Barrow expressed delight in receiving the students and appreciated their relationship with the Gambian Embassy in the People’s Republic of China. He acknowledged the friendly relations with the Chinese President, H.E Xi Jinping and the opportunity FOCAC presented to Africa.
Responding to their concerns, the Gambian leader informed the students that the Government expenditure is guided by an annual budget and would be difficult to accommodate self-sponsored students, adding, “It is not good governance and best practice to be requesting additional funds requiring Parliamentary approval.” He further informed them that Cabinet was aware of the challenges students in China and elsewhere faced, and would assess their situations.
President Barrow assured the students that capacity building, including youth employment through higher education, is a priority for his Government’s reform agenda, citing the visionary development of the University of The Gambia campus. Despite the challenges, he added that his Government is committed to innovative and wise spending of the limited resources available amidst the high expectations while calling on the students to support his Government’s plan in investing and preparing the youth as future leaders. “All our direction is towards young people, and education has the highest budget, with about 75% of UTG students on scholarship,” President Barrow revealed.
In a separate engagement, Chinese President H.E. Xi Jinping hosted President Barrow and other Heads of State and Government and delegations to a state banquet on Wednesday evening to kickstart the FOCAC2024 in Beijing for the next few days.
(State House)
