BANJUL, 19 December 2022: As part of his visit to New York, the United States of America, for the US-Africa Summit, the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad, Dr Mamadou Tangara has had series of high-profile meetings as he continues to strengthen The Gambia’s relations with the wider world.
Among those meetings, the Honourable Tangara attended the Group of 77 and China Conference of Foreign Ministers on Friday, 16th December 2022, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The meeting was held under the theme “Achieving SDGs: Addressing Present Challenges and Building Resilience Against Future Crisis”. The Ministers of the G77 held roundtable discussions on enhancing Climate Action beyond pledges to concrete action. They further discussed the possibility of increasing International Trade, Development and Investments to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The issue of Access to Finance and Investment in Africa was given special attention to build upon the commitments made in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda.
On the sidelines of the G77 Ministerial Conference, the Honourable Minister Dr. Mamadou Tangara held bilateral meetings with Mr. Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for the United Nations Department of Peace Operations (DPO) and Mr. Atul Khare, Under-Secretary-General for the Department of Operational Support (DOS) on Friday, 16th December 2022. Hon. Tangara reiterated The Gambia’s strong commitment to the cause of UN Peacekeeping Operations and briefed the two USGs on the ongoing plans and efforts at the national front to increase our participation in the various field missions. He further took the opportunity to request that the two USGs continue supporting The Gambia’s contribution to UN field missions and to facilitate Partnerships with other UN Member States in order to meet our capacity and capability challenges.
On his part, USG Lacroix thanked The Gambia for its significant contribution to UN Peacekeeping and particularly commended The Gambia’s efforts in deploying a high percentage of women officers to the various missions. USG Khare joined in applauding The Gambia’s strides in Peacekeeping, highlighting that The Gambia is the 62nd largest contributor to UN Peacekeeping and commended our participation in the UN’s Triangular Partnership Projects, most recently in the area of Engineering. The two USGs assured the Honourable Minister of the UN’s continued support to Gambian officers serving in field missions and encouraged increasing their presence.
Honourable Minister Dr. Mamadou Tangara also paid a courtesy call on Honourable Patty Torsney, Permanent Observer of the Inter Parliamentary Union accredited to the United Nations. He highlighted the need to enhance the relationship between the IPU and the National Assembly of The Gambia with a view to foster deeper understanding and cooperation in areas of mutual interests. Hon. Torsney welcomed the ideas shared by the Minister and expressed willingness to facilitate technical cooperation from IPU that would provide support to meet the needs of the National Assembly. She further encouraged the Gambia to participate in the forthcoming meetings of the IPU.
At the request of the Republic of Azerbaijan in their capacity as Chair of the Non-Aligned Movement, The Hon. Foreign Minister Dr. Mamadou Tangara held a bilateral meeting with His Excellency Mr. Fariz Rzayev, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan. The two officials noted the excellent bilateral relations that so happily exist between The Gambia and Azerbaijan. Hon. Dr. Tangara took note with appreciation of the message of goodwill delivered by the Deputy Minister of Azerbaijan and assured him of The Gambia’s support throughout their tenure as Chair of the NAM.
The Honourable Foreign Minister was accompanied to the above meetings by His Excellency, Mr. Lamin Dibba, Ambassador & Permanent Representative to the United Nations, as well as Ms. Isatou Badjie, First Secretary at the Permanent Mission.