The event was held at the Ministry of Defense office in Banjul.
At the event, Serienge Modou Njie, Minister of Defense explained that the bilateral technical assistance between he Gambia and Austria involves cooperation in various sectors of the economy, including education, migration and security.
“The Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research of Austria places a high value on international cooperation. This cooperation aims to bring new perspectives and strengthen Austria's position as an education and research hub and address global societal challenges.” he added.
The Defense Minister observed that the key areas of international cooperation for Austria in its relations with the Gambia (4:26), is fighting transnational crimes and irregular migration.
“The government of the Gambia will continue to partner with the Federal Republic of Austria in order to enhance and consolidate our relationship to higher heights. The two countries are willing to strengthen diplomatic ties by promoting the finalization of a signing process of a bilateral technical agreement between the two ministries of defense.”
He revealed that The Gambia recently has acceded to the Arms Treaty, an international treaty that is binding on all state parties that has to regulate and control conventional arms.
“There are management to make sure (that it does not go into the wrong hands. So, it is an obligation for every state party to exercise those control measures.”
Minister Njie pointed out that one of the components that would allow a state party to be able to control and manage whatever weapons and ammunition that they have under their control and possession, is to complete the other aspect of training, which is the small arms and light weapons. Gambia is also a member of the ECOWAS Small Arms Commission.
For his part, H.E Arnold Kammel, Vice Minister of Defense Austria, highlighted that “if we look at the Austrian areas of expertise in military terms, it's very often related to education and training.”
He noted that Austria has always placed great emphasis on multilateral fora and the topic of education and training in view of the fact that they believe that by sharing the same values and training standards, they can contribute to a better understanding in terms of security and safety at the global stage.
“Looking at the area of small arms, light weapons and stockpile management, that is definitely one of the cornerstones of our international engagements and where we are basing our international cooperation.”
He underscored that from the Austrian perspective, they do consider the Republic of The Gambia, as being one of the hubs here in West Africa where they can build on a stable relationship in order to contribute to overall peace and stability in the entire region.
“We do believe that with all the crises, conflicts, and wars that we're experiencing on a daily basis, it's very much about partnering with nations that share our values, interests, and see an added value in fostering the bilateral cooperation.”
