Twenty-five Gambian students have returned from the Republic of China on Taiwan after undergoing a four-year special Information Technology (IT) elite undergraduate programme at the Taiwan National Taipei University of Technology.

A special television programme was organised to welcome the graduates Wednesday at the Gambia Radio and Television Services (GRTS) along the MDI Road in Kanifing. Present at the programme were His Excellency Richard Shih, the Taiwanese ambassador to The Gambia; Alhagie A. Cham, the minister of Information Communication and Information Technology; the director of Research and Planning at the Ministry of Higher Education, Research Science and Technology, Yusupha Touray; as well as Fafa Sanyang, who represented the Gambia National Petroleum Company; and officials from the Taiwan Banjul Embassy.

Speaking during the 30-minute programme, Minister Cham congratulated the graduates for their successful completion of the programme and expressed hope that they have returned to contribute to national development. The idea, he said was borne out of President Jammeh's vision to make The Gambia a Silicon Valley of Africa.

Minister Cham told the gathering that IT has today become a leading tool which all countries need for rapid development. He said President Jammeh is always thinking ahead to ensure that Gambia reaches its full potential in human resource capability.

For his part, Ambassador Richard Shih said he believes that the graduates are well prepared to contribute to the socio-economic development of The Gambia after acquiring the undergraduate degree. He further stated that despite the toughness of education in Taiwan the graduates have done extremely well during the course of their four-year programme.

While assuring Taiwan's immense commitment to further cement its relationship with The Gambia, Ambassador Shih used the opportunity to praise the bold vision of President Jammeh and President Ma in making the two countries cordial brothers.

Yusupha Touray, the director of Research and Planning at the Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, expressed his Ministry's delight at receiving the students, adding that The Gambia government has gone the extra-mile to prepare its students.

Touray said human capital and development are vital tools to improve development, and stressed that the leadership of The Gambia has made it a top development priority. In her vote of thanks on behalf of the graduates, Amie B Jammeh, a computer science and technology graduate hailed President Jammeh and President Ma for initiating the programme.

“Our four years in Taiwan has been full of golden memories. Today, we are back home as ambassadors and we will endeavour to contribute our best to the development of the country,” she said. Jammeh reminded her colleagues that in order to achieve their set target goals in life, they must strive hard. “We must endeavour to work hard, though it will not be easy,” she added.