By Fatou Sowe
The Minister of Defence, Honourable Sering Modou Njie, led a delegation to India to take part in the 12th edition of the India Defence Export Exhibition 2022 held at Gandhinagar,Gujarat.
The Honourable Minister was accompanied by his Permanent Secretary Mrs. Rohie Bittaye Darboe; the Chief of Defence Staff of the Gambia Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Yakuba A. Drammeh; Captain Navy Dembo Jarjue; Mrs. Mariama Khan; and Captain Momodou S Bah. Over 900 defence firms from across the world participated in the expo.
The theme for this year’s edition was ‘Path to Pride’, aims to forge partnerships in the defence space enhancing the previous edition with a greater presence of both national and foreign exhibitors.
The exhibition enabled a showcase of the latest technologies and provided a myriad of opportunities to stakeholders in the aerospace and defence industry of India.
The Expo provided an overview of what India has been able to achieve in terms of defence production, application of modern technologies, liberalised collaborative policies, research and development.
In a different engagement, the Guinea Bissau Ambassador to The Gambia H.E Bailo Camara, accompanied by his Defence Attaché, paid a courtesy call on Defence Minister Njie at the Ministry in Banjul.
The purpose of the visit was to strengthen the bilateral relationship between the two countries, particularly in the areas of multilateral defence relations by using various tools which are significant initiatives for securing peace, stability, and defence.
Speaking at the event, Ambassador Bailo Camara seized the opportunity to express delight for the warm reception he was accorded.
H. E Bailo Camara went on to highlight the great significance attached to the partnership between the two countries and all the benefits yielded from such cooperation. He assured that the Government of Guinea Bissau is committed to closely working with the Government of The Gambia in areas of mutual interests.
The Minister of Defence Hon. Sering Modou Njie on behalf of His Excellency the President of the Republic of The Gambia and Commander-In-Chief of the Gambia Armed Forces Adama Barrow expressed appreciation for the visit, describing it as an opportune one.
Minister Njie further highlighted the significance of the partnership between the two countries. He went on to emphasise that the cooperation between both countries will go a long way in cementing the long-standing bilateral ties for the benefit of all and sundry.