United Kingdom’s Foreign Secretary, Mr Boris Johnson visited The Gambia yesterday and was hosted by the country’s newly elected President Adama Barrow. The visit to The Gambia would be the first recorded visit by a UK Foreign Secretary.
The Foreign Secretary visited The Gambia as part of moves to ensure that the “Global Britain and its partnerships are growing and not shrinking, around the world as demonstrated by the Commonwealth’s strength,” a statement issued from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London said.
The two leaders discussed The Gambia rejoining the common wealth. The Commonwealth of Nations is a voluntary association of 52 independent and sovereign states. Most are former British colonies or dependencies of these colonies.
https://twitter.com/adama_barrow/status/831600353636384770
“I am delighted to say The Gambia is now on a path to be back into the Commonwealth and we are going to do that as far as possible….The other thing is, we have so much to help in education, infrastructure, security and helping in the tourism industry.” Said Boris Johnson
Johnson hailed the December elections that unseated Jammeh after 22 years in power in The Gambia, saying they “highlight the continuing strengthening of democracy in West Africa”.
Longtime leader Yahya Jammeh, who had ruled since seizing power in 1994, fled Gambia last month after regional militaries launched an operation to remove him after refusing to hand over power to the new elected President.
Barrow is attempting to reverse many of Jammeh’s most controversial decisions, such as leaving the commonwealth. The President is also planning to stop Gambia’s withdrawal from the International Criminal Court.
Fantastic trip to The Gambia – thank you for the warm welcome. On to Ghana! pic.twitter.com/oxzHmj3KxT
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) February 14, 2017
British Foreign Secretary @BorisJohnson Has Decided on visit to The #Gambia #GambiaHasDecided pic.twitter.com/NfDw96ZtF1
— GambiaHasDecided (@GambiaDecided) February 14, 2017
