Dembo M. Badjie, the Gambia’s high commissioner to the Republic of India also concurrently accredited to the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, on Monday 23rd January 2012 presented his letters of credence as the Gambia’s High Commissioner to the People’s Republic of Bangladesh to His ExcellencyZillur Rahman, the President of the people’s Republic of Bangladesh in an elaborate ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Dhaka.

According to information relayed to the Daily Observer by the Gambian High Commissionin New Delhi, India, Badjie was accompanied to Bangladesh bySering Modou Njie, deputy head of Mission andHaddy Ndong-Badjie, wife of Ambassador Badjie.

After the presentation of credentials, His Excellency the President Zillur Rahman invitedBadjie to take his seat for a private conversation.

High Commissioner Badjie conveyed the greetings and best wishes of His Excellency the President of the Republic of The Gambia, Sheikh Professor Alhagi Dr. Yahya AJJ Jammeh to the President of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.

In his response, President Zillur Rahman acknowledged with profound gratitude the goodwill messages and felicitations from his brother and friend, President Jammeh.In addition, he expressed his government’s desire to maintain and further strengthen the relations, which so happily exist between the two countries, the Republic of Bangladesh and the Republic of The Gambia. He further assured the Gambian diplomat of his government’s unreserved support and cooperation during his tour of duty.

President Rahman finally congratulatedhigh commissioner Badjie on his appointment as the Gambia representative to the People’s Republic of Bangladesh and urged him to take maximum advantage of the prevailing opportunities in Bangladesh especially in the areas of trade and investment opportunities.

Badjie confirmed that the Republic of The Gambia attaches special priority to the relationship between the two countries.He went further to highlight some areas of interest for bilateral cooperation with The Gambia namely in Agriculture, health, trade, investment, cultural, education and women empowerment projects.

He informed President Rahman that the government of The Gambia has launched a four (4) year development plan called “Programme for Accelerated Growth and Employment” (PAGE) covering the period 2012-2015 and used the opportunity to present the PAGE document and The Gambia Women Project Proposal document entitled “Building of the Gambia Women Multipurpose Market Complex and the formation of the Federation’s Finance Company” to the President of Bangladesh through the Foreign Secretary and requested the support and assistance of the government of Bangladesh in the realisation of thegoals and objectives of these programmes.

He also briefed the President of The Gambia’s Economic situation and developments by adding that The government of The Gambia is continually trying to further streamline and improve business operations to reconfirm the Gambia’s role as an economic hub for West Africa and in that, he said starting business in the country is easier than ever and significantly less complicated compared to other sub-Saharan countries.

High Commissioner Badjie further indicated that The Gambia’s stable and robust economy over the years has been attributed to the country’s safe environment, cheap labour force, excellent lifestyle and lucrative incentives the nation offers, which has stimulated investment across a wide range of sectors. He said the government has completed this advantageous business climate with a series of serious initiatives, including business-friendly reforms, prudent macroeconomic policies, investor outreach efforts, liberal trade policies, and improved port infrastructure and efficiency.

On the recent November 24th 2011 President Elections in The Gambia, High Commissioner Badjie informed President Zillur Rahman that his Excellency Sheikh Professor Alhagi Dr. Yahya AJJ Jammeh President of the Republic of The Gambia won with an outstanding and overwhelming victory, capturing 72% of the votes cast.The Gambia, he said under the leadership of president Jammeh is a nation of remarkable achievements and the renewed mandate for President Jammeh in the November 24th, 2011 elections by the Gambian people was a vote of confidence in more development under his leadership. High Commissioner Badjie later on had audience with several ministers including health, foreign Affairs, Home Affairs, Agriculture, Women and Children Affairs.

The Agriculture minister assured High Commissioner Badjie of her ministry’s support and readiness to provide technical assistance to The Gambia in the form training of Gambian farmers in good production especially rice cultivation to increase food sufficiency. In discussing technical cooperation, the minister of Health assured High Commissioner Badjie of her government’s readiness in the provision of Doctors and Nurses to enhance the performance of the health sector of The Gambia.

The Minister of Women and Children Affairs also gave assurances of her Ministry’s readiness to provide technical assistance for the training on small and medium size enterprises and other income generating activities for Gambian Women through the National Women’s Federation. The Minister informed the High Commissioner that the 10th Commonwealth Women Ministers Conference will be held in Bangladesh in May 2013 and the government of The Gambia will be notified and invited.

Badjie concluded his visit to Bangladesh by having an interview with Channel I, one of the most popular TV Channels in Asia viewed in more than 180 countries in the world. The meetings were coordinated by Dr. M. Haider Uzzaman, The Gambia’s Honorary Consul to Bangladesh, who did remarkably well for the mission to achieve its objectives. Several business and investment meetings were also conducted by His Excellency the High Commissioner during the visit.