Gambia’s vice-president Mohammed BS Jallow is in Senegal for a two-day working visit as part of a drive to strengthen friendly relations between the two neighbours.
Mr. Jallow was welcomed to Dakar by Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko.
According to the office of the vice-president, the visit aims to strengthen the long-standing friendship and cooperation between Senegal and The Gambia.
The Vice-President and his delegation, including key ministers, will also meet with President Bassirou Diomaye Faye to discuss the unique bilateral relations rooted in shared history, geography, culture and development, concluded a tweet from Mr Jallow’s office.
The visit came a few days after an important meeting of the Senegal-Gambia joint military committee in Bakau, on the Gambian Atlantic coast.
The meeting chaired by the Gambian Minister for the Armed Forces and attended by the Senegalese Ambassador and the Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Senegalese Armed Forces, provided an opportunity to review bilateral cooperation and defence agreements between the two countries.
On 23 and 24 July, the town of Bakau, on the Atlantic coast, hosted an important meeting of the Senegal-Gambia joint military committee, according to the Senegalese Army Public Relations Directorate (DIRPA).
The opening ceremony was presided over by the Gambian Minister of the Armed Forces, in the presence of the Senegalese ambassador and the Senegalese Deputy Chief of the Armed Forces General Staff.
At the same time, the 10th bilateral meeting between Senegalese and Gambian Customs was held in Dakar, under the chairmanship of Bassirou Sarr, Director of Cabinet for the Minister of Finance and Budget.
The Gambia, which is surrounded by Senegal, shares the Wolof language and common cultural traditions. Since their independence, Senegal and Gambia have sought closer cooperation.
In 1981, they attempted a short-lived merger through the Senegambia Confederation to unite their political and economic forces.
Although dissolved in 1989, this confederation has left the foundation for close cooperative relations.
In 2017, Senegal played a crucial role in quelling the political crisis in Gambia, when Yahya Jammeh refused to hand over power to current president Adama Barrow.
Senegal, with the support of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), led efforts for a peaceful transition, forcing Jammeh from power and into exile in Equatorial Guinea.
Barrow’s ascent in power also enabled Dakar to weaken the Movement of Democratic Forces of (MFDC), part of which had used Gambian territory as a rear base.
The Gambia is the second African country to welcome Senegal’s new head of state, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, since his election on 24 March.
The visit followed shortly after Faye’s first official trip (abroad) to Mauritania.
AC/Sf/fss/as/APA