By Lamin Kujabi
The Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China in The Gambia, His Excellency Lin Jin has promised that the Chinese government will send agricultural technical team to The Gambia, who will be working closely with the farmers and agricultural officials in the country to support rice production in the country.
Ambassador Lin Jin said this on Thursday, January 5th while presenting 1996 tons of rice, equivalent to 40,0021 bags to His Excellency President Adama Barrow at State House in Banjul. The bags of rice are meant to be distributed among the vulnerable and needy people in the country.
The donation is part of the China Food Aid to The Gambia, and the Ambassador said this would strengthen bilateral relations between People’s Republic of China and The Gambia.
He acknowledged that food sufficiency is a big challenge in The Gambia and pledged that the Chinese government will continue to cooperate with The Gambia on agricultural development.
The Chinese ambassador and Honorable Dr. Demba Sabally, Minister of Agriculture signed support cooperation between People’s Republic of China and The Gambia.
Speaking at the presentation ceremony President Adama Barrow noted that since he came to power in 2017, People’s Republic of China has been very supportive to his government, and that the Chinese government has supported projects that are very visible in the country; such as the Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Centre, bridges and roads constructions in the Upper River Region.
While acknowledging that the rice donation will go a long way towards supporting the agriculture sector, the President appealed to the Chinese government through the ambassador to provide technical support to Gambia’s agriculture sector.
“The Chinese people have proven themselves to be true and good friends of The Gambia,’’ he said.
He assured the ambassador that The Gambia will support them at the international level and that they will continue to work together for the best interest of both countries.
