The anbassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to The Gambia, His Excellency, Saeid Zare, yesterday afternoon visited the new Observer Company complex, publisher of the Daily Observer newspaper, located at Gacem Road in the Kanifing Industrial Area.

Ambassador Zare's visit was meant to congratulate the new managing director on his appointment as well as for the new building allocated to them by the prorietor of the company. His visit, according to the ambassador, also aimed at consolidating the existing relationship between his embassy in Banjul and the Observer Company.

In a brief interaction, Ambassador Sare spoke about the mutual relationship existing between his embassy and The Gambia's leading media outlet, noting that his visit is meant to further strengthen that trend. He noted that the relationship between the leaders of the two countries has been very cordial since 2006, when President Ahmadinejad visited The Gambia during the African Union summit.

While envisaging his president's visit to The Gambia in the near future so as to further boost the existing ties between the two countries, Ambassador Zare imformed the Observer Company management that his president has plans to visit Africa, but that due to the upcoming elections in Iran, those plans have been put on halt. "Africa is very important to Iran. The two have many things in common," said the Iranian ambassador, while expressing his resolve to further consolidate that good relationship. He stressed the need for South-South cooperation, saying that there is the need for us to think about our own capabilities and capacities. To this end, he noted that The Gambia is a country that has its own potential to improve, making reference to its natural resources and the kind people it has.

The Iranian diplomat also underscored the need for Islamic countries to support each other in development, saying that his country under the leadership of President Ahmadinejad cherishes such relations. Describing the Daily Observer newspaper as the most popular newspaper in The Gambia, Ambassador Zare expressed his embassy's resolve to explore ways and means of future cooperation between the Observer and interested parties in the Iranian press. He spoke at length about the vibrancy of the Iranian media. The media, he said, has a responsibility in giving positive news and knowledge to the masses.

In response, Pa Malick Faye, acting managing director of the Observer Company, expressed delight for the visit, saying that his media outlet felt honoured in receiving a diplomat of the ambassador's calibre. He said that Iran and The Gambia have many things in common. In line with his company's vision of making a multimedia outfit, the Observer boss appealed to the Iranian ambassador to use his influence to tap training opportunities for Observer staff. Training opportunities, Faye observed, will go a long way in further developing their capacities in the quest to develop the human resource base of the company.

"Our relocation to this mighty complex is part of efforts to transform the company into a multimedia outfit, which vission also requires training the human resource base," stated the Observer boss, while assuring the Iranian ambassador of his compnay's untiring commitment to ensure sustanability of the mutual relationship between the two countries.

Kemo Cham, editor-in-chief of the Daily Observer cewspaper, buttressed the point raised by his acting managing director, and went on to note that Obserbver felt honoured for such an important visit. He expressed hope to see more memorable ties between the two. Abdoulie John, a deputy editor-in-chief and production manager of the company, and Alhaji Jobe, deputy editor-in-chief, both expressed similar sentiments.