By Mama A. Touray
The Minister of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services, Dr. Ismaila Ceesay, announced Tuesday on West Coast Radio that the government of The Gambia will select 350 applicants in the Gambia-Spain bilateral migration agreement out of the 1,050 applicants shortlisted.
“I am pleased to inform you that the shortlisting of the applicants for the Spain and Gambia bilateral agreement has been completed. The total number of applicants shortlisted is 1,050, out of the total applicants of 10,111, which I about 10%,” he said.
The applicants shortlisted, he said, were those who submitted authentic documents such as a valid passport for at least one year, a certificate of character, and a medical certificate.
“The total number of applicants to be selected is 350 people for the moment,” he said.
During the first phase of the interview, he said a total of 116 applicants were interviewed, out of which 39 people have been selected.
He also stated that the certificates of character and medical certificates of the successful applicants have been submitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for translation to Spanish and authentication.
“The 39 persons selected are all men, and we are informed that the numbers of women selected were also selected, but we are yet to receive the list from the Spanish. The Spanish do the selection, and the interview will continue when we receive more requests from the Spanish authorities,” he added.
He stated that the interview was conducted by three panellists: one in Spain by video, one from the Spanish Embassy, and one in Banjul.
“The ministry has also considered those who have experience in agriculture, especially in fruit gathering, with a certificate attached, and those married with children, and the age limit is from 25 to 50 years.”
