The Gambia followed a formal policy of non-alignment throughout most of former President Sir Dawda Jawara's tenure. It maintained close relations with the United Kingdom, Senegal, and other African countries. The July 1994 coup strained The Gambia's relationship with Western powers, particularly the United States. Starting in 1995, President Yahya Jammeh established diplomatic relations with several additional countries, including Libya, the Republic of China (on Taiwan, before 2013), and Cuba. As scholars on Gambia's foreign policy have argued, throughout Jammeh's period, the country's foreign policy was a shifting sand, with little of direction.
Amat Jeng, a scholar on The Gambia's foreign policy, argues that "The Gambia under Jammeh was not constrained by the bureaucratic hurly-burly which characterizes the foreign policy terrain of big democracies. In The Gambia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) had, on several occasions, been left in a vacuum, thereby placing it under the Office of the President. Between 1997 and 2013, the MFA had been occupied by more than 18 different ministers in more than 20 sworn-in occasions. This qualifies the argument that Jammeh had always had the power to fire ministers at will. In North Korea, the MFA has been occupied only by ten different foreign ministers since 1948." During Yahya Jammeh's presidency, The Gambia's foreign relations were characterized by a mix of isolationism, confrontational diplomacy, and strategic alliances. Jammeh's regime frequently clashed with Western nations over human rights issues, resulting in strained relations with the European Union and the United States. He often pursued alliances with non-Western countries, such as China, Iran, and Libya, to counterbalance Western influence and gain economic support. His administration also pulled The Gambia out of the Commonwealth in 2013, accusing the organization of neo-colonialism. Jammeh's unpredictable and authoritarian leadership style made Gambia's foreign policy under his rule highly controversial and often isolated the country on the international stage.
Despite these tensions, Jammeh's government engaged in regional diplomacy within West Africa, maintaining membership in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), though relations with neighboring Senegal were often tense due to border disputes and differing political stances. Jammeh's erratic foreign policy choices ultimately contributed to The Gambia's diplomatic isolation until his ouster in 2017.
During his last years, the EU grew increasingly intolerant of Jammeh's iron-fist rule. Consequently, Brussels withheld millions of euros to The Gambia. Jammeh fired back by expelling the EU's top diplomat in the country after he had accused the bloc and human rights activists of conniving to besmirch the image of his government for its stance on homosexuality.
Diplomatic relations
List of countries which the Gambia maintains diplomatic relations with:
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! colspan="3" |frameless|425x425px
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!#
!Country
!Date
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|1
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|2
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|3
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|4
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|5
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|6
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|8
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|9
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|11
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|12
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|15
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|16
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|17
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|18
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|19
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|20
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|21
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|-
|27
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|-
|29
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|30
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|31
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|32
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|33
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|34
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|36
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|37
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|38
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|39
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|40
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|41
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|42
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|43
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|44
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|45
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|46
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|47
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|48
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|49
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|50
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|51
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|52
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|53
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|54
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|55
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|56
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|57
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|58
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|59
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|60
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|61
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|
|-
|—
|
|
|-
|62
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|-
|63
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|64
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|65
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|66
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|67
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|68
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|69
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|70
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|72
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|73
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|74
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|75
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|76
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|77
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|78
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|79
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|80
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|-
|—
|
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|-
|81
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|1990–1992
|-
|82
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|83
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|84
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|85
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|86
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|87
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|88
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|89
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|91
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|98
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|-
|102
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|103
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|106
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|107
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|-
|109
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|-
|110
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|111
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|-
|114
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|-
|117
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|-
|118
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|-
|123
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|-
|128
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|-
|130
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|-
|133
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|-
|134
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|-
|—
|
|
|-
|135
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|-
|136
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|-
|137
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|-
|138
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|-
|139
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|-
|140
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|-
|144
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|-
|148
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|149
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|150
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|151
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|-
|—
|
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|-
|152
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|153
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|154
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|-
|155
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|156
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|157
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|-
|158
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|159
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|-
|160
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|
|-
|162
|
|Unknown
|-
|163
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|Unknown
|}
Bilateral relations
Africa
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%; margin:auto;"
|- h
! style="width:15%;" | Country
! style="width:12%;" | Formal Relations Began
!Notes
|-
|
|
|The two countries maintain diplomatic relations.
|}
Asia
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%; margin:auto;"
|- h
! style="width:15%;" | Country
! style="width:12%;" | Formal Relations Began
!Notes
|-
|
|
|See Azerbaijan-The Gambia relations
On November 11, 1994, Azerbaijan and the Gambia signed the Protocol on the establishment of diplomatic relations.
|-
|
|
|See China–Gambia relations
China and Gambia reestablished diplomatic relations on 17 March 2016.
|-
|
|25 June
|See The Gambia–India relations
Both countries established diplomatic relations on 25 June 1965
|-
|
|
|Both countries established diplomatic relations in 1981
See The Gambia–Malaysia relations
The Malaysian embassy in Dakar is accredited to The Gambia while the Gambian embassy in Abu Dhabi is accredited to Malaysia. The relations are friendly and warm.
|-
|
|—
|See The Gambia–Taiwan relations
The Gambia firstly established diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan) in 1968, three years after The Gambia gained its independence from the United Kingdom. In an unprecedented move, however, the PRC did not respond to Gambia's offer to establish diplomatic relations, presumably because of its desire to improve relations with Taiwan.
- Turkey has an embassy in Banjul.
U.S. policy seeks to build improved relations with the Gambia on the basis of historical ties, mutual respect, democratic rule, human rights, and adherence to UN resolutions on counterterrorism, conflict diamonds, and other forms of trafficking. In accordance with U.S. law, most direct bilateral development and military assistance to the Gambia was suspended because of the 1994 coup d'état. U.S. assistance continues, however, in the form of food aid administered through Catholic Relief Services, support for democracy and human rights projects, and the financing of girls' secondary education. In addition, the Peace Corps maintains a large program with about eighty volunteers engaged in the environment, public health, and education sectors, mainly at the village level.
The Gambia is also a member of the International Criminal Court with a Bilateral Immunity Agreement of protection for the US-military (as covered under Article 98).
|}
Europe
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%; margin:auto;"
|- h
! style="width:15%;" | Country
! style="width:12%;" | Formal Relations Began
!Notes
|-
|
|
|Gambia has an embassy in Brussels.
|-
|
|
|The two countries maintain diplomatic relations.
|-
|
|
|Italy is represented in Gambia through its embassy in Dakar, Senegal.
|-
|
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|Gambia is represented in Luxembourg through its embassy in Brussels.
|-
|
|
|See The Gambia–Spain relations
Both countries established diplomatic relations on 14 August 1965
|-
|
|
- The United Kingdom is accredited to Ghana through its High Commission in Banjul.
The UK governed the Gambia from 1816 to 1965, when it achieved full independence.
Both countries share common membership of the Atlantic Co-operation Pact, the Commonwealth, the International Criminal Court, and the World Trade Organization. Bilaterally the two countries have a Double Taxation Convention, and an Investment Agreement.
An 1889 agreement with France established the present boundaries. The Gambia became a British Crown Colony, British Gambia, divided for administrative purposes into the colony (city of Banjul and the surrounding area) and the protectorate (remainder of the territory). The Gambia received its own executive and legislative councils in 1901 and gradually progressed toward self-government. It passed a 1906 ordinance abolishing slavery.
During World War II, Gambian troops fought with the Allies in Burma. Banjul (then named Bathurst) served as an air stop for the U.S. Army Air Corps and a port of call for Allied naval convoys. U. S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt stopped overnight in Banjul en route to and from the Casablanca Conference in 1943, marking the first visit to the African continent by a sitting American president.
After World War II, the pace of constitutional reform increased. Following general elections in 1962, the United Kingdom granted full internal self-governance in the following year. The Gambia achieved independence on 18 February 1965, as a constitutional monarchy within the Commonwealth of Nations.
|}
The Gambia and the Commonwealth of Nations
The Gambia was a member of the Commonwealth of Nations from its independence in 1965 until its withdrawal in October 2013.
After presidential elections in 2016, the winning candidate Adama Barrow promised to return The Gambia to the Commonwealth. On 14 February 2017, The Gambia began the process of returning and formally presented its application to re-join to Secretary-General Patricia Scotland on 22 January 2018. Boris Johnson, who became the first British Foreign Secretary to visit The Gambia since the country gained independence in 1965,
See also
- List of diplomatic missions in the Gambia
- List of diplomatic missions of the Gambia
References
External Links-https://www.bta.bg/en/news/archives/908143-observances-june-11#the%20gambia (This link shows that diplomatic relations between Bulgaria and the Gambia on June 11, 1999.)