Press release
The British High Commission recently hosted government officials, members of the diplomatic community, partners and friends to a reception to celebrate the 96th Birthday of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the 70th year of her service to the people of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.
This year’s celebration was particularly historic as it is the first time in the history of the United Kingdom a monarch has reigned this long. Communities across the UK will be celebrating this momentous occasion. There will be 2,429 public events and 16,000 street parties.
Here in The Gambia, we join the celebrations by embracing cuisine from around the UK and the Commonwealth, celebrating our diversity and values that unite us all. We are delighted to be joined by colleagues from the Nigerian and Sierra Leone High Commissions who provided guests with their delicious traditional cuisines.
The British High Commissioner, David Belgrove OBE during his speech recognised and celebrated the friendship between The Gambia and the UK.
“During her reign which started 13 years before Gambia’s first Republic. There have now been 3 republics and also 20 British High Commissioners and Ambassadors…..and a couple of million British tourists.
I should like to take this opportunity to celebrate our enduring friendship with The Gambia, from the many British tourists who arrive on these shores every year to a warm welcome and experience Gambian culture and diverse wildlife - to our cooperation on the international stage and our bilateral programmes where, for example, our judges share their experience and knowledge. - Our military train together side by side as they have for over 100 years, these days to prepare for peacekeeping missions, to combat piracy and international crime and the threat of extremism. Our brilliant Gambian Chevening scholars study in the UK each year, returning to contribute to their country. Especially over this last year we have worked closely together on the ever more urgent challenge of climate change; I especially valued our cooperation on COP26 last year, where The Gambia set an example to the world with their commitment to reducing carbon emissions.
I also applaud the democratic gains and peaceful progress The Gambia has made in recent years, especially the recent elections, the conclusion of the TRRC process and especially the robust White Paper response committing to implementing 99% of the recommendations. The United Kingdom has been pleased to support that process and will continue to do so.”
High Commissioner Belgrove thanked Standard Chartered Bank for their sponsorship and the British High Commission team for their hard work and making the event a huge success.
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