By Fatou Sowe
The Gambia Armed Forces (GAF) recently received from the People’s Republic of China, through the Chinese Ambassador to The Gambia, His Excellency Liu Jin, an assortment of vehicles and two 40-foot containers containing water purification materials, at a handing-over ceremony, held at the Yundum Barracks.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Minister of Defence, Brigadier General (rtd) Serign Modou Njie noted that the Republic of The Gambia and the People’s Republic of China continue to enjoy excellent and fruitful relations at both bilateral and multilateral levels in various fields of their cooperations. He said in making the South-South cooperation a reality, the two countries have committed to move the mutual excellent bilateral relations to another height.
Minister Njie further expressed The Gambia Government’s appreciation of the numerous logistics, training and capacity building support provided to GAF by China over the years.
He therefore thanked the former Chinese Ambassador through Ambassador Liu Jin for a great work done in facilitating the magnificent support and several of its kind in the past.
While handing over the keys of the new vehicles to the Minister of Defence, the Chinese Ambassador to The Gambia, His Excellency Liu Jin said the handing-over of the keys is a symbol of the keys to friendship and love.
The Deputy Chief of Defence Staff, Major General Mamat O. Cham in his address explained that the donation is a fulfilment of the pledge made by The People’s Republic of China to help GAF in its efforts at preparing troops for possible deployment in a UN Peace Support Operation mission in the context of a Quick Reaction Force (QRF).
General Cham elucidated that in 2019 GAF made an ambitious but solemn pledge to deploy her personnel as part of a QRF under the UN in the Central Africa Republic. He said that the donated items are part of the required equipment for a QRF by GAF.
The General thanked the government of China for the magnanimous donations of the state-of-the-art vehicles and the required operational logistic support and also the assistance provided to the GAF in the areas of capacity building, the offer of training courses between 2018 and 2019, the provision of non-lethal equipment in the form of riot gears for GAF Public Order Management Unit in 2019 and provision of military grants to GAF to acquire several vital equipment on gratis for GAF.
The occasion was also graced by the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Defence, Rohie Bittaye-Darboe and senior officers of the GAF.
