Alhaji Ebrima N.H. Jarjou, the new Ambassador from the Republic of The Gambia to the ROC, presented his credentials to President Ma Ying-jeou in a ceremony held at the Presidential Building on the morning of June 4.
Ambassador Jarjou was escorted by Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Department of Protocol to the Presidential Office for the ceremony that began at 9 a.m. Also witnessing the ceremony was Presidential Secretary-General Liouyi Liao and Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Chin-tien Yang.
After receiving the ambassador's credentials, President Ma welcomed Ambassador Jarjou to Taiwan on behalf of the government and people of the ROC. He also expressed his hopes that relations between the two countries will continue to move forward. President Ma stated that the two nations established diplomatic ties in 1995 and over the past 15 years cooperation has been seen in a number of areas, such as agriculture, medicine, and education.
The president commented that he has held in-depth discussions with The Gambia President Yahya A. J. J. Jammeh, enabling him to understand the enormous efforts President Jammeh has made in helping to build his nation. Consequently, infrastructure in The Gambia stands out among its West African neighbors. The progress achieved by President Jammeh in this regard exceeds that achieved during the 30 years prior to his taking office, President Ma said. This is especially the case in higher education and the status of women, with The Gambia serving as a model in West Africa, he said. Nations around the world are keenly aware of this progress, the president noted.
President Ma also remarked that interaction between the two countries reveals the emphasis that The Gambia places on education. Presently, National Taipei University of Technology runs special classes for students from The Gambia in electrical and computer engineering and management. National Pingtung University of Science and Technology provides a similar set-up in agriculture, while Kaohsiung Medical University offers a special class in medical treatment. The government of The Gambia encourages its citizens to engage in learning, and the nation's students are quite hardworking, he said, not only pursuing practical knowledge, but also focusing on raising the quality of life. President Ma said that this is an important aspect of bilateral cooperation and that Taiwan is very willing to increase scholarships to enable even more students from The Gambia to realize their academic dreams.
The president noted that The Gambia has made significant progress in providing power to its people and the capital now enjoys round-the-clock power supply. Some rural communities, however, still experience power shortages, he said. President Ma specially explained to Ambassador Jarjou that the ROC has developed a solar powered lamp, which is becoming an important aspect of its foreign aid. Once a battery is installed in the device, the lamp can run continuously for four and a half hours on a single recharge, which will enable students who live in power shortage area to still be able to continue with their studies at night. The following day, the schoolchildren can take their lamps to school where they will recharge them for 30 minutes, after which they can be used again for another four and a half hours. The price of each lamp, he said, is only US$10. President Ma said that The Gambia is a nation that places great importance on education. He said he is confident that this reasonably priced lamp that conserves energy would be an item that The Gambia would find interesting. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will provide related information to the government of The Gambia for reference, he said. President Ma stressed that this Light for Africa project is likely to become an important part of the ROC's assistance to Africa in the future.
President Ma also specially expressed his appreciation to The Gambia for speaking on behalf of Taiwan in the international arena, adding that the nation has particularly advocated Taiwan's participation in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), two bodies in which the ROC is especially interested in taking part. Last year and this year, he said, the ROC was able to participate as an observer in the World Health Assembly under the name "Chinese Taipei." This is an important achievement, which was made possible by The Gambia's longstanding support for the ROC, he said.
Lastly, President Ma reiterated his welcome to Ambassador Jarjou on assuming his position here and said he hopes that the ambassador’s tenure will be characterized by bilateral cooperation and a further strengthening of ties between the two countries.