ROC President Lee Teng-hui and visiting Gambian President Yahya Jammeh sign a joint communique this morning at the Office of the President. In the communique, the two leaders express satisfaction at the cordial ties and mutual friendship and cooperation existing between the two countries, and pledge to continue to collaborate closely for the mutual benefit of the two countries and peoples.
The joint communique also records that President Lee accepts with great pleasure the invitation extended to him by President Jammeh to visit the Republic of The Gambia at a date to be arranged through diplomatic channels.
As the two heads of state sign the joint communique, ROC Vice President Lien Chan, Gambian Foreign Minister Baboucarr Blaise Jagne and other senior government officials witness the process.
Before the signing ceremory, President Jammeh has a talk with President Lee, and he leads his delegation to bid farewell to President Lee at the end of the meeting. He again thanks the ROC government and people for the warm hospitality extended during their stay in Taiwan.
The full text of the joint communique is as follows:
At the invitation of His Excellency Lee Teng-hui, President of the Republic of China, His Excellency (Rtd.) Col. Yahya A. J. J. Jammeh, President of the Republic of The Gambia, visited the Republic of China from the twentieth to the twenty-fifth November 1996.
President Jammeh was accompanied by a high ranking delegation including some members of his cabinet.
The two Heads of State had a tete-a-tete discussion in which various issues relating to bilateral cooperation and international affairs were dealt with. The two leaders agreed that all nations should use dialogue, negotiations and other peaceful means, in the resolution of international disputes, on the basis of the principle of sovereignty and universal equality of nations.
In this regard, the two leaders reiterated their common desire to cooperate closely with each other to further promote peace and prosperity amongst all nations.
President Jammeh underscored the potential contribution of the Republic of China to world peace and prosperity as well as to the economies of the developing countries if it plays a more active role in international organizations and activities, and reiterated his firm support for the Republic of Chinas bid to participate in the UN and other world organizations. President Jammeh also noted with deep appreciation the Republic of Chinas achievements in the fields of democratization and economic development and took the opportunity to express sincere appreciation for the offer made by the Republic of China to assist the Republic of The Gambia in the fields of agriculture, health and other development initiatives.
Similarly, President Lee Teng-hui expressed his satisfaction in the achievements of the AFPRC Government in terms of its development programmes, and noted with great delight The Gambias transition to democratic civilian rule.
President Lee Teng-hui and President Jammeh expressed their satisfaction at the cordial ties and mutual friendship and cooperation that exist between their two countries, and pledged to continue to collaborate closely for the mutual benefit of their two countries and peoples.
Before leaving Taipei, His Excellency President Jammeh expressed gratitude to His Execllency President Lee Teng-hui and his Government for the warm welcome accorded to him, his spouse and indeed his entire delegation. To this effect, President Lee accepted with great pleasure the invitation extended to him by his colleague President Jammeh to visit the Republic of The Gambia at a date to be arranged through diplomatic channels.
Done in Taipei, the twenty-fifth day of the eleventh month of the year nineteen hundred and ninety-six, corresponding to the twenty-fifth day of the eleventh month of the eighty-fifth year of the Republic of China.
In a military ceremony this afternoon, President Lee, on behalf of the government and the people of the Republic of China, bids official farewell to President Jammeh and his delegation.
The farewell ceremony is held at the plaza of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in downtown Taipei. In the beginning of the ceremony, twenty-one guns of salute are shot and the national anthems of the two countries are played. Then President Jammeh, accompanied by President Lee, reviews a military honor guard. ROC Vice President Lien Chan, senior government officials and members of the diplomatic corps are also present in the ceremony.
President Jammeh and his delegation leave for Chiang Kai-shek International Airport right after the military ceremony, ending their five-day state visit to the ROC.