Foreign Minster Dr. A K Abdul Momen, MP and Dr. Mamadou Tangara, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad of the Republic of The Gambia met on 12 February 2023 at the State Guest House Jamuna to discuss bilateral relations and cooperation framework on peacekeeping. The Gambian Foreign Minister is leading a six-members high level delegation including the Gambian Defence Minister on an official visit to Bangladesh. The senior officials of the Bangladesh Foreign Office also attended the meeting. The visiting Foreign Minister earlier had courtesy meetings with the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi, and Chief of Army Staff General SM Shafiuddin Ahmed. The high-level delegation visited Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar during the last weekend. The Gambian Foreign Minister also paid a visit to the Liberation War Museum.
Foreign Minister Momen thanked the Gambian Minister for espousing the accountability and justice matters related to the genocide perpetrated by Myanmar against the forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals. He also appreciated the continued engagement of The Gambia with the legal team in the case on Rohingya in the International Court of Justice. The Gambian Foreign Minister Tangara assured of continuing mutual collaboration in working together closely to call for a sustainable solution to the Rohingya crisis, including their safe, dignified and voluntary return to Myanmar.
The meeting called for an acceleration of the ongoing processes of justice and accountability to address the human rights violation against the Rohingya people in Myanmar.
The two ministers committed to further strengthen the long-standing friendly and brotherly relations between the two countries and work towards maintaining peace, justice in the global arena. Both the ministers agreed to forge cooperation in potential areas including education, agriculture, IT & ICT, trade & investment and people-to-people contacts.
The meeting highlighted the importance of increased dialogue, enhanced economic, political and security cooperation in matters of mutual interest for Bangladesh and The Gambia. During the meeting, the two Ministers also discussed south south cooperation in the context of multilateral framework, close cooperation in agriculture between two countries and global scenario due to Ukraine crisis.
After the meeting, the Foreign Ministers signed a joint declaration agreeing on, among other issues, the co-deployment of the Bangladeshi and the Gambian armed forces at the UN peacekeeping missions. Earlier in a meeting at the Armed Forces Division, both sides discussed the modalities of such co-deployment.
The Gambian Foreign Minister who is visiting Bangladesh as Special Envoy of the President of The Gambia, to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina delivered a lecture on the foreign policy of The Gambia at the Foreign Service Academy (FSA) as part of Bangabandhu Lecture Series earlier in the afternoon.