The Republic of Seychelles and The Gambia have officially established Diplomatic Relations. This was materialised at the Chancery of the Republic of Seychelles in Addis Ababa on Thursday 16th November 2023, through the signing of a Joint Communiqué between Her Excellency Jainaba Jagne, Ambassador of The Gambia, and Mr. Conrad Mederic, Ambassador of the Republic of Seychelles, both accredited to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

The two Ambassadors recognised the signing as a historic and significant occasions since it is the first time Seychelles has signed a Joint Communique to establish relations with another country in on the African continent. The diplomats agreed that the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries has been long outstanding and that the signing marks the beginning of fruitful relations.

Both Seychelles and The Gambia are Small African States and members of the African Union and the Commonwealth; two platforms that the Ambassadors agreed could be common ground for further collaboration and exchanges on various mutual matters of concern. They also acknowledged the need to explore mutual beneficial areas for bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

In September 2022, a delegation of 10 members from The Gambia visited Seychelles to learn from the experience of the island state’s Public Enterprise Monitoring Commission (PEMC).

The mission, supported by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), came after the Gambian authorities established a new Directorate, the State Owned Enterprises (SOE) Department, with the mandate to oversee SOEs across the country.