The president of the Republic, Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh, in the early hours of last Sunday morning, left Banjul for Taipei,  Republic of China (Taiwan).

President Jammeh, accompanied by a high-powered delegation, was seen off at the Banjul International Airport by the vice president and secretary of state for Women's Affairs, Aja Dr Isatou Njie-Saidy, secretaries of state, senior government officials, members of the diplomatic and consular community, and a cross section of the Gambian community.

The Gambian leader's visit is in honour of an invitation extended to him by his Taiwanese counterpart, President Ma Ying-jeou, an invitation that was recently conveyed to President Jammeh at State House by the Taiwanese ambassador to The Gambia, Richard Shih. This is President Jammeh's 8th visit to Taiwan as head of state, and his first  since the new Taiwanese president came into office and it aims at cementing the friendly ties that exist between the two sisterly nations that have shared so much over the years.