The vice president, Aja Dr Isatou Njie Saidy, yesterday, received in her office a special envoy of the Burundian president, Pierre Nkurunzizaat, at State House, in Banjul. The minister of Information, Communication, and Relations with Parliament, Mrs Hafsa Mossi is also the spokesperson of the government of Burundi. She was accompanied to the State House by Mr Sheriff Aidara, The Gambia's ambassador to the Republic of Burundi, who is also a special adviser to President Nkurunzizaat.

In an interview with reporters, shortly after her audience with Vice President Njie-Saidy, the Burundian special envoy told waiting reporters that she was in The Gambia primarily to extend a message to President Yahya Jammeh from his Burundian counterpart, to attend "one of our biggest occasions, the 'run for peace'".

Recalling the effects of the just ended civil war in Burundi, Mrs Mossi told reporters that they had resorted to using sports to heel the wounds that resulted from the bloody conflict that ravaged their country. "We want to overcome that past history," she said, adding that the rest of Africa and the world at large would be instrumental in attaining that goal. "Peace is a real thing in Burundi," she emphasized.

Another reason for the visit, according to the Burundian president's envoy, is to set the pace for an eminent visit by President Nkurunzizaat, in the nearest possible future. According to her, despite being far apart, The Gambia and Burundi share the same history by virtue of being on the same continent.

She also said that her visit was part of efforts by the Burundian government to bring together people; something which she said was good. Burundi, she assured the gathering, will like to start getting closer to the people of Africa and the rest of the world.