In a moderate ceremony at the State House in Banjul, the secretary-general and head of the Civil Service, Noah Touray, on behalf of the Gambia government received 100 metric tons of rice from the Republic of Pakistan.

In his remarks, Touray praised Gambia-Pakistan relations, saying that the gesture would go a long way towards addressing food insecurity in The Gambia as a result of COVID-19, as well as enhancing bilateral cooperation.

The Pakistan High Commissioner to The Gambia based in Dakar, Dr. Ali Ahmed Arain, said the donation was an expression of the goodwill that exists between the two friendly nations.

He added that the donation would help enhance the food security drive of The Gambia.

High Commissioner Arain also butressed Pakistan’s willingness to share experiences with The Gambia in dealing with natural disasters, adding that his country remains committed to strengthening the ties between the two nations.

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi says Egypt welcomes intensified cooperation with Malaysia at all international gatherings.

In a meeting with visiting Malaysian Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, the president also stressed keenness on boosting economic, trade and investment cooperation with Kuala Lumpur.

This, Sisi said, is part of Egypt’s policy of openness to joint cooperation, construction and development with all world countries and for the best interest of all peoples.

Sisi asked Hishammuddin to convey his best regards to Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, said presidential spokesman Bassam Rady.

For his part, Hishammuddin conveyed best regards of Muhyiddin to Sisi and stressed that his country is keen on boosting bilateral ties with Egypt in all fields and at international gatherings.

The meeting also took up regional and international issues of mutual concern, with focus on the fight against terrorism, Rady said.

Hishammuddin praised Egypt’s efforts to counter terrorism at the internal and regional levels and refute their extremist ideologies. He also appreciated the leading role played by Al Azhar in this regard.

For his part, the top Malaysian diplomat described as “historical” his meeting with Shoukry and President Abdel Fattah El Sisi earlier in the day.

Hussein said his visit to Egypt reflects the success of relations between the two countries and paves the way for more economic cooperation, particularly in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

He pointed out that an agreement was reached to assign senior officials with preparing the agenda of the joint committee that was supposed to be held in 2008 and holding a business forum soon.

As the Chinese Embassy in Banjul observes the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, the ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to The Gambia, H.E MA Jianchun has stated that China will engage The Gambia on new needed infrastructural projects at the end of this year.

Delivering a speech on the reception at the event that was held at the Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara Conference Center on Thursday, he said: “We will guarantee the quality and completion time of the existing projects. The road and bridge projects in the URR will be completed in August 2021.

The Chinese agricultural experts are now assisting Gambians in improving rice verities, advancing agricultural technology and training agricultural talents.

After more than two years efforts, they have got certain achievements on SAPU experimental area in CRR, and have welcomed a pretty good harvest recently.”

To alleviate the impact of Covid-19, Ambassador MA further stated that his government will continue to provide food aid to the country this year, while adding that after relieves of traveling restrictions, they will resume people-to-people exchange with Gambia in order to provide more opportunities for both youth and women to visit China and boost up their capacity.

He continued that since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese people have fostered unbreakable friendship with Africans.

He said China-Africa cooperation has become a model of cooperation among developing African countries’ political parties and governments to explore ways of supporting Africa’s development, share experience in governance, and jointly build a community with a shared future for mankind.

“China calls on political parties in all countries to join hands and become builders of world peace, contributors to global development, and defenders of the international order.”

The Chinese ambassador reiterated that more than 2,000 years ago, an ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius observed that one should make friends with people who are upright, sincere, and well-informed, stating that the CPC keeps on promoting exchanges with political parties of other countries to share ideas on enhancing party competence and state governance.

“As a Chinese saying goes, a stone taken from another mountain may serve as a tool to polish the local jade. In the new era, the CPC will continue to engage in dialogues, exchanges and cooperation with the people and political parties of other countries.”