Ms Esther John Audu, the new Nigerian High Commissioner and Richard RC Shih, the new Taiwanese ambassador to The Gambia, yesterday, presented their letters of credence to President Jammeh at State House, in order to formally commence their diplomatic assignments in the country.

Speaking to newsmen shortly after presenting her credence, the Nigerian High Commissioner expressed her desire to further strengthen the cordial bilateral relationship  that exists between the two countries.

According to her, Nigeria will widen its technical assistance programme from the areas of health, education and youth development to agriculture and any other sector requested by The Gambia government.

For his part, Ambassador Shih, talked about the "excellent relationship" that exists between the two countries, expressing his desire to further strengthen and deepen it.

Asked whether he had discussed with the president the global food crisis, the Taiwanese diplomat responded: "I have discussed a lot on the issue of food safety with the president. I want to echo the president's remark that no one can escape if he is not engage in agricultural activity."

To that effect, the Taiwanese ambassador said his embassy, the Taiwanese Technical Mission, the Department of State for Agriculture and the president will be working towards  food security as a priority.