The Daily Observer (Banjul)
Amadou Jallow
19 November 2009
Banjul — The new ambassador of Cuba to The Gambia, Her Excellency Ines Fors Fernandez, yesterday visited the Observer Company, publisher of the Daily Observer newspaper, at its offices on Gacem Road, Kanifing.
Speaking at the ceremony, Ambassador Fernandez said The Gambia and Cuba are true friends, who have enjoyed common objectives and relationship for a long time. She said Â"it is important for Gambians to know this relationship and what Cuba is as well as what they are doing around the world.
She described the visit as part of their efforts to strengthen the already mutual relation that exists between her embassy and the Observer Company. Ambassador Fernandez, who arrived in the country just recently, described the people of The Gambia as hospitable. Â"When I arrived in The Gambia, I felt like I am at homeÂ", she said.
She commended the management and staff of the Observer Company for the excellent work they are doing in the area of information dissemination. She also thanked the newspaper for the numerous support it has been rendering to her embassy over the past years and expressed hope that the relationship will grow from strength to strength.
Pa Malick Faye, managing director of the Observer Company, said The Gambia and Cuba are both developing countries who have enjoyed cordial bilateral relationship for a long period. He assured Ambassador Fernandez of ObserverÂ's unreserved readiness to render her embassy the support at all times.
The leadership of The Gambia, MD Faye said, attaches great respect to the affairs of Cuba. He then told Ambassador Fernandez that Observer is a newspaper that gained the respect of the Gambian people and assured her of keeping up the momentum. While commending Ambassador Fernandez for her visit to Observer, MD Faye used the opportunity to appeal for her embassy to help facilitate possible linkages between Observer and some media institutions in Cuba for training. Â"The fact that Cubans have a lot to give in terms of media training, it will be good if my reporters undergo training there,Â" Faye said, and added Â"one cannot build a strong and a viable company without establishing a strong human resource base. We would also like to improve on our writing skills and contents and this can be possible through the support from your embassy for our personel to acquire training in CubaÂ". In her response, Ambassador Fernandez promised MD Faye that her embassy will do its best to help.
Lamin M Dibba, the marketing manager of the Observer Company, said it is an indisputable fact that The Gambia and Cuba have enjoyed a longstanding relationship. Dibba assured Ambassador Fernandez to always count on the support of the Observer Company at all times.
Thomas Kojo Quayson Jnr, a deputy editor-in-chief, also attested that The Gambia-Cuba relation is cordial. The Cuban revolution, he said, has transformed the lives of many people in the world, including those of Gambians. Quayson Jnr equally promised Ambassador Fernandez of ObserverÂ's fullest support at all times under the leadership of MD Faye.
For his part, Alhagie Jobe, a deputy editor-in-chief equally thanked Ambassador Fernandez for the visit. He assured her of their continued support and further expressed hope that the already established ties between the two institutions will be further strengthened. Hamidou Baldeh, from the Cuba-Gambia Friendship Association, who accompanied Ambassador Fernandez to the Observer offices, expressed hope that relationship between the Cuban embassy and the Observer will grow from strength to strength.
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