According to information gathered from the Commonwealth Secretariat, during the visit, Kamalesh Sharma will meet the Gambian leader, His Excellency Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh, and use the opportunity to brief him on the current Commonwealth initiatives, including the reforms and renewal agenda to make the organisation more focussed on addressing the needs of its more than two billion citizens in advancing democracy, development and promoting diversity.

Accordingly, the secretariat stated that Sharma will use the visit to look forward to continuing to deepen the relationship between the Commonwealth and The Gambia.

“The country visits gives me the opportunity to meet and brief our leaders as well as to listen to them and pave the way on what we can do together to improve the livelihoods of our people. This is what I intend to do in The Gambia and I am looking forward to meeting President Jammeh,” SG Sharma was quoted in the dispatch.

The Commonwealth Secretariat has over recent years, worked with The Gambia to support strengthening of the judiciary and on improving trade competitiveness. The Secretariat has also provided assistance to the tourism sector, helped enhance the capacity of officials to participate effectively in trade negotiations, assisted with debt management, and worked with the country and other member states on global advocacy, such as climate change, international trade and G20 to enhance the voice of small states in the international system. It has also conducted training of journalists on effectively and responsibly reporting on development and democracy issues.