By: Muhammed Lamin Drammeh
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad, Dr. Momodou Tangara, has said that the Gambian government has not signed any bilateral agreement with the Federal Republic of Germany regarding deportation but, according to him, the deportation of Gambians is based on a document signed between the Gambia and the European Union (EU) in 2018, which was forwarded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during the tenure of Lawyer Ousainou Darboe as the country’s foreign affairs minister.
During a parliamentary session today, Dr. Tangara, the minister of foreign affairs, answered questions from lawmakers regarding the country’s foreign policy and when asked by the National Assembly Member for Busumbala about the reason behind Gambians being deported back to the country, the minister explained that the government of The Gambia signed a memorandum of understanding with the European Union in 2018 as part of a migration program proposed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“The document that led to the deportation of Gambians is a document agreed upon by the Gambia government and the European Union in 2018, and that’s part of the migration programme.
“When in 2018 the European Union first came to the Gambia following the change of government, it was agreed upon in 2018 and it’s between the Gambia and the European Union,” he said.
When asked if it was, in fact, signed and who signed it, the minister responded: “It is not an agreement. It is an MoU and the message conveying our agreement and the said agreement was forwarded by the ministry of foreign affairs in 2018. It is easy to verify who was the minister in 2018,” Tangara said.
The agreement between the European Union and the Gambia over the deportation issue has been a subject of debate in the country. Recently, some Gambians have been deported by the German government, a country in the European Union.
When the minister was asked if the government of the Gambia has a bilateral agreement with the Federal Republic of Germany, he replied that there is no such agreement with Germany, despite the improved relationship between the two countries.
“I would like to clarify to this August Assembly that, the Gambia government has not signed any bilateral agreement with the Federal Republic of Germany concerning any sector or any subject area and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad is not aware of any such agreement document between the two countries,” he said.
The minister further informed the parliament that his ministry is working to cooperate with the Spanish government and Italian authorities over seasonal migration because migration has existed and is part of human history.
He acknowledged that deportation of Gambians is not the solution but equally stated that those found to be Gambians cannot be rejected by the government of the Gambia when the country they are living in wants to deport them back to the country.
