505 34
His Excellency Mr. Barry L Wells, the ambassador of the United States to The Gambia has saluted The Gambia government under the dynamic leadership of Sheikh Prof. Dr. Alh. Yahya AJJ Jammeh for demonstrating the political will necessary in the fight against narcotics trafficking in the region.
The US envoy made the commendation Monday at the official opening ceremony of a five-day training on Boarding Officer Course for members of the Gambian Navy. The training, organized by the US Coast Guards (USCG) International Training Division, is aimed at equipping the participants on the skills and techniques of controlling drug smuggling in maritime environments.
Ambassador Wells also commended President Jammeh for being very vocal and adamant about zero tolerance for narcotics trafficking and for his vow not to ever allow The Gambia to become a haven for drug traffickers. “The Government of The Gambia has expressed the desire to build and bolster its institutions to advance their maritime safety and security and participate in U.S. bilateral and regional partnerships to counter these transnational threats. The Gambia has demonstrated the political will to stop narcotics trafficking in the region.”
According to him, the United States Coast Guard will through the support of U.S. Africa Command's Counter Narcotics and Law Enforcement Assistance Division support The Gambia to build competencies, and capabilities in addressing the maritime challenges surrounding narcotics trafficking.
The top US envoy in The Gambia also reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to support and cooperate with The Gambia to continue to enhance maritime security and counter narcotics measures in the region, noting that the Office of Security Cooperation (OSC) - Dakar, Senegal in conjunction with the United States Embassy in Banjul, The Gambia continues to engage in capacity building of various host nations’ law enforcement counterparts. He said that as part of these efforts, the USG is committed to helping The Gambia make security improvements that will enhance its ability to combat narcotics trafficking and the illicit activity that surrounds it. He further recognized the Government of The Gambia’s desire to build and bolster its institutions to advance their maritime safety and security and participate in U.S. bilateral and regional partnerships to counter these transnational threats.
He said that the USCG is a critical component of the United States’ defense and military fleet which possess a highly specialized set of skills that ensures that they remain at a state of readiness to protect the nation. According to him, the United States defense capabilities are essential to military operations in peacetime, crisis, and war and the USCG has taken on great challenges to protect their nation.
“The United States is proud to begin this relationship of collaboration and support in building the skills essential to protecting the sea,” he said.
Addressing the participants, Ambassador Wells said: “This week, you will learn some of the best defense techniques in the world and we certainly hope that it will bring us closer to eradicating security threats in our seas. We look forward to further cooperation on maritime security and law enforcement capabilities that protect our seas and ultimately our borders,” he said, as he wished the trainees a successful week of training.
Also speaking, Brigadier General Sering Modou Njie, Chief of Army Staff of The Gambia Armed Forces who represented Commodore Madani Senghore, Chief of Naval Staff at the event described the training as very crucial and relevant for The Gambia Navy’s drive to enhance its human resources capacity in order to fulfill its constitutional mandate as the maritime arm of The Gambia Armed Forces.
“As you know, The Gambia Navy over the period has continued to grow in size in terms of personnel and platforms, thus the need to enhance in techniques and skills cannot be over-emphasized.” He said. According to him, some of the major roles of the navy include but not limited to the protection of life and property at sea, anti-toxic waste dumping in Gambia territorial waters, prevention of smuggling of illicit substances such as drugs and other illegal items and the prevention of poaching, illegal migration and human trafficking.
He said that it is therefore important to note that the boarding training officers’ course that will benefit twenty four members of The Gambia Navy, is quite significant and remarkable in adequately equipping the participants with the required knowledge and tools to effectively and efficiently fulfill their tasks, duties and responsibilities that would be assigned to them in a maritime environment. “The training amongst other things would cover pertinent areas such as boarding preparation and procedures, stopping incorporate vessels, conduct of high risk search techniques and detection of hidden illicit items and identification of drugs,” he said.
The Army chief then urged the participants to exploit the rare opportunity presented to them during the five-day training with keen interest, dedication, diligence and above all, to demonstrate high sense of responsibility and discipline. He concluded by expressing sincere thanks and appreciation to the President and Commander in Chief of The Gambia Armed Forces, Sheikh Prof. Dr. Alh. Yahya AJJ Jammeh for all the support he renders to the Armed Forces as well as for providing them with the enabling environment in order to realize their goal of enhancing capacity to fulfill their constitutional mandate. He also thanked the US Embassy in Banjul through Ambassador Barry L Wells for their continued support especially on logistics and training rendered to the Armed Forces and the Navy in particular as well as to other institutions.
