CAIRO, May 31 (MENA) – Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigration Badr Abdelatty has reaffirmed that Egypt prioritizes achieving security and stability in West Africa and the Sahel region.

He pointed out that Egypt exerts great efforts on this score in light of the consequences of instability in the region on neighboring countries, including Libya and Sudan, as well as the direct impact of that instability on Egypt’s national security.

In a statement issued Saturday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Abdelatty had a meeting with his Gambian counterpart Mamadou Tangara to mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Egypt and Gambia.

Abdelatty voiced keenness on strengthening bilateral cooperation with Gambia in various fields, particularly trade, investment, agriculture, aquaculture, energy, infrastructure development, technical support, and capacity building. He affirmed Egypt's readiness to support Gambia in realizing its development goals.

Abdelatty also praised Gambia’s participation in training courses offered by the Egyptian Agency of Partnership for Development (EAPD), noting that Gambia has benefited from 78 training courses for 127 trainees over the past 10 years. He also expressed Egypt’s readiness to offer further training courses for Gambian professionals.

He highlighted the ongoing cooperation between the two countries in education, including the establishment of a center for “Teaching Arabic to Non-Native Speakers” in the Gambia, in partnership with Al Azhar and the General Secretariat for Arab and Islamic Education in Gambia.

He also reviewed scholarships offered by Al Azhar and the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research for Gambian students, as well as fruitful cooperation in the health sector, including the construction and equipping of an Egyptian hospital in Banjul.

The minister also briefed his Gambian counterpart on the latest developments in the Middle East, highlighting Egypt’s mediation efforts to stop the Israeli aggression on Gaza and support the Palestinian cause within the framework of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and other regional and international organizations. (MENA)

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