“Gambia and Senegal are two countries but share everything in common in terms of culture, religion and other things,” Barrow avers. “There are no countries anywhere in the world like The Gambia and Senegal. Therefore, it is important that we strengthen our relationship because that is the best way as far as our bilateral relations are concerned.”
President Barrow who made these remarks at the Banjul International Airport after the day-long visit of the Senegalese President, also said: “The visit of President Bassirou Diomaye Faye is a very significant one as it is a family visit and a traditional one. It has always been like this: when a new president is elected in The Gambia or Senegal, their first visit will be to each other.”
He added: “When I was elected as president, my first visit was Senegal. Here again, Bassirou Diomaye Faye is visiting us. Therefore, this justifies the fact that we are one and the same people.”
Barrow maintains that Faye’s first visit to Mauritania was due to the fact that the Mauritanian president is the current Chairman of the African Union (AU).
The Gambian leader described President Faye’s visit to The Gambia as “successful”, saying: “The visit is historic and traditional. We discussed a lot of issues, especially on trade between both countries. I also discussed with President Faye about the Senegalo-Gambia Secretariat with a view to strengthening it.”
The Senegalo-Gambia Secretariat, he added, is an independent office which has ambassadors of both countries representing them at the secretariat.
“Therefore, they are very important. In fact, very soon, I will be sending my ministers to go to Senegal and engage their Senegalese counterparts because we need their support as the country is hosting the OIC Summit,” he stated.
“I also discussed with the Senegalese president the issue of security because the two countries are all the same. If there is no security in The Gambia, then there will be no security in Senegal and the same with Senegal as well.”
