President Barrow Adama Barrow on 9th August 2023 presided over the launch of the country’s maiden Defence Policy, describing it as a historic milestone in The Gambia’s Security Sector.
The Policy, a key objective of the Security Sector Reform, seeks to safeguard the country’s sovereignty, national interests, core values, and commitment to a favourable world order and regional security resilience.
“As you may recall, in 2017, when I took over as President of this country, I made a call for an assessment of the security sector. The purpose was to analyse the existing opportunities and challenges that have to be addressed in the country in respect of delivering accountable, transparent, professional, apolitical, and responsive security services for the people, “ President Barrow said.
The President further stated that the launch of the policy is a demonstration of his government’s commitment to security sector reforms, cognisant of the fact that without security, peace, and stability, economic growth cannot be achieved.
“I implore the Ministry of Defence to take full responsibility for the policy implementation process and ensure that the much-anticipated outcomes of the reforms in the Defence Sector are achieved. The Government will continue to work towards enhancing and developing the capacity of the Armed Forces and promoting security awareness and patriotism among the citizens of the country,” he concluded.
Source: Culled from State House, The Gambia
