Courtesy of Daily Observer- 
http://observer.gm/africa/gambia/article/gambia-gives-us700000-to-taiwan


  Gambia gives US$700,000 to Taiwan

<http://observer.gm/africa/gambia/article/gambia-gives-us700000-to-taiwan#map>Africa 
<http://observer.gm/africa/news> » Gambia 
<http://observer.gm/africa/gambia/news>

Monday, August 31, 2009
In a great move and show of solidarity, the vice president and minister 
of Women’s Affairs, Her Excellency, Aja Dr Isatou Njie-Saidy, on behalf 
of President Jammeh, last Friday, presented a cheque for US$700,000 to 
the Republic of China on Taiwan, as part of The Gambia government’s 
contribution in mitigating effects of the recent typhoon disaster in the 
island nation.

The gesture, which is said to have been directed by The Gambian leader, 
His Excellency Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh, was received on 
behalf of the Taiwanese government and the typhoon victims by HE Richard 
Shih, the Taiwanese ambassador to The Gambia.
The Gambia’s humanitarian move came at a time when Taiwan is on the 
verge of reconstruction, following the typhoon disaster that devastated 
the country.

Presenting the cheque, Vice President Njie-Saidy described the situation 
as not a happy moment, noting that the government of The Gambia does not 
have the pleasure to make such presentation. The vice president 
described the ties existing between the two nations as one that goes 
beyond bilateral relations, noting that the two nations share a lot in 
common. “You are a small country out there in the Pacific, and we are 
also a small country in Africa. So we share a lot of things in common, 
and therefore small countries also tend to come together and support 
each other,” remarked Dr Njie-Saidy, while indicating that the two 
presidents and their governments have similar visions.

She observed that the two countries always stand by each other in a lot 
of forums and assist each other in the areas of development. At a time 
when the island nation is recovering from the effects of such a 
disaster, Vice President Njie-Saidy said, all that The Gambia as a true 
friend of Taiwan can do is to reciprocate their numerous assistance 
rendered to the country. “We had disasters here and you assisted us. We 
also had refugees in the country and you assisted us, and lot of other 
humanitarian assistance not to speak of development. So the president 
also deemed it to also reciprocate as Taiwan is in a very sad moment,” 
she said.

She stated that The Gambian people are very much appreciative of 
Taiwan’s numerous assistance and further informed the Taiwanese diplomat 
that President Jammeh has felt what happened in Taiwan. “Since we cannot 
stop nature, all we can do is to give out our assistance in tokens. We 
know that Taiwan has all the resources to do this, but just out of 
tokenism that we are doing this just to show our appreciation and 
sympathy to the government and people of Taiwan,” Vice President 
Njie-Saidy concluded.

Momodou Kotu Cham, the minister of Forestry and Environment, joined Vice 
President Njie-Saidy in expressing The Gambia government’s sadness over 
the devastating effects of the typhoon that has claimed several lives in 
Taiwan. Minister Cham noted that genuine friends always stand by each 
other in moments of sadness and joy, noting that The Gambia’s move is 
not only based on bilateral ties but also on humanitarian grounds. For 
his part, the Taiwanese ambassador to The Gambia, His Excellency Richard 
Shih, on behalf of his government and victims of the disaster, expressed 
profound gratitude and appreciation to President Jammeh, the government 
and the entire people of The Gambia for the humanitarian move. He noted 
that a friend in need is a friend in deed.

The recent typhoon, he indicated, has caused an unprecedented 
devastation in Taiwan, noting that the first two days of the disaster, 
the rainfall in Taiwan was about 2000 millimeters, which exceeded the 
total rainfall in his country last year. Ambassador Shih noted that 
Taiwan is deeply moved by the show of solidarity extended by President 
Jammeh and his cabinet, as well as the Gambian people at large. The 
Taiwanese chief diplomat to The Gambia assured The Gambian authorities 
of a quick reciprocation of the gesture. Noting that they are mobilizing 
resources for post disaster reconstruction, Ambassador Shih expressed 
his country’s commitment to bring back normalcy in Taiwan as soon as 
possible. The presentation ceremony that was attended by ministers and 
other senior government officials was moderated by Modou Saidy, press 
officer at State House.
Author: *by Hatab Fadera*

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html

To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]
¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤