‘Details of Diomaye’s Banjul visit not meant for public consumption’

The Minister of Information and Broadcasting Dr Ismaila Ceesay has defended the non-disclosure of the specific reasons and details for the recent visit to Banjul by President Bassirou Diomaye Faye of Senegal.  The minister would only stop at describing the visit as a normal diplomatic activity between two heads of state.

Speaking in an interview with Peter Gomez on West Coast Radio’s Coffee Time, Dr Ceesay said such things happen in diplomacy-when some things are said only behind closed doors.

He described such engagements as “high diplomacy,” arguing that confidential discussions between leaders are a normal feature of international relations.

“If everything discussed by two presidents is out there in the open, the world will crumble,” he warned.

The minister was responding to questions about the visit and speculation surrounding political developments in neighbouring Senegal, including opposition leader Talib Ahmed Bensouda’s reported meeting with former Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko.

Ceesay said the Gambia government focuses on strengthening bilateral relations with the government in power rather than political personalities or opposition activities.

He dismissed suggestions that the Gambia government favours any political faction in Senegal, insisting that relations between Banjul and Dakar are based on state-to-state cooperation.

According to Ceesay, The Gambia worked closely with former Senegalese presidents Abdoulaye Wade and Macky Sall and will continue to deepen ties with President Faye’s administration. “Our ties with Senegal are enduring and long-lasting. They outlive presidents. We deal with the state,” he said.