The Gambian leader, His Excellency Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya AJJ Jammeh, Thursday received at his office the Commander-In-Chief of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment and Governor General of Gibraltar, Vice Admiral Sir Adrian Jones. He was accompanied to State House by the British High Commissioner, Philip Sinkinson; the Chief of Defence Staff of The Gambia Armed Forces, Lt. General Masaneh Kinteh and senior military personnel of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment.

Speaking at the occasion, President Jammeh thanked the delegation for the visit and hailed the long standing collaboration that existed between The Gambia and Britain. Without this, he noted, it would have been difficult for the Gambia Armed Forces to make an impact on peacekeeping operations. He also extended his gratitude to Her Majesty the Queen of England, and her people for the cooperation and support rendered to The Gambia Armed Forces.

President Jammeh pointed out that as a government; there may be some political differences but that the army speaks the same language. Commenting on the significance of the army, he said its aims and objectives are to maintain peace and stability, to preserve life and make sure that whatever development we put in place will be beneficial to the people they serve.

He expressed his desire to have a permanent army training team just like the British Army Training team, rather than the different categories of training existing in the army, which he noted not cost-effective.

The President then highlighted regimentation and setting up specialized units in the country's army as posing great challenge, "because when trained soldiers complete peace-keeping missions and return home, they move to their different units and the team work is no longer there," he noted. For the Special Forces, he observed that they train together, live together, know each other, trust each other and die for each other, and this he said is important.

The Gambian leader expressed the need for the country to have a military academy where senior non-commissioned officers (NCOs) could be trained, as well as a well designed curriculum.

Speaking earlier, the Chief of Defence Staff, Lt. General Masaneh Kinteh hailed the cooperation that exists between the Gambia Armed Forces, recalling the last training they had with the British Army Training Team, which he described as successful. The training he said has enhanced their capacities and professionalism. CDS Kinteh further noted that all the commendations that the army had from overseas were possible as a result of the fruitful co-operation and quality training they had from the Royal Gibraltar Regiment.

He informed that the Gibraltar Regiment will soon come to take part in the pre-deployment training of their contingent which is identified for Darfur.

The CDS then appealed to the British High Commissioner to increase the number of instructors sent to conduct training sessions in The Gambia, since they are training to send more troops in future operations.

For his part, the British High Commissioner to The Gambia, Philip Sinkinson said the training operations offered by the British Army to The Gambia Armed Forces have been very beneficial and promised that it will be a continuous process so far as funding for the B MAT training for the next two years in a very innovative way.

The Commander-In-Chief of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment, Vice Admiral Sir Adrian Jones, said his visit to The Gambia is aimed at inspecting the Gibraltar Regimental training operations in the country. He expressed good impression about the relationship between The Gambia Armed Forces and the British Army.

By Alhagi Ceesay & Aji Fatou Jammeh