The Italian vice minister of Interior Nitto Francesco Palma yesterday at State House, presented 8 Toyota Land Cruisers, two 12-seater Toyota buses and 20 security gadgets and metal detectors to Gambia's security agencies at a ceremony presided over by VP Njie-Saidy.

The donation is geared towards enhancing the operational capacity of the country's security apparatus. Speaking at the ceremony, vice minister Palma said the visit marks the start of a new bilateral cooperation between the Police Department of Italy and The Gambia Police.He stated that Italy is much committed to helping friendly nations, adding that they will continue to assist the The Gambia's security agencies.

He then expressed hope that the friendship between the two countries will grow from strength to strength in the realisation of their ardent goals. He finally thanked the Gambian authorities for the warm reception accorded to him and his delegation.

For his part, Ousman Sonko, the minister of Interior, used the opportunity to welcome the visiting Italian delegation. He recalled that in October 2009, the director general of the Ministry of Interior of Italy was in this country to discuss with them the possibility of cooperation. He said during the visit he met and held discussions with officials of the Interior Ministry in The Gambia "During that meeting, he indicated that the Italian government is ready to assist The Gambia with four vehicles and one seater-bus, but can only be done when the two countries signed an agreement," he revealed.

Minister Sonko explained that to his surprise, the promised vehicles arrived even before the actual official signing ceremony of the bilateral agreement; adding that instead of four vehicles, they sent 8 Toyota Land Cruisers and two- 12 seater buses and other security gadgets.

"This really shows how much they value the cooperation. We must thank them for the proactive move," he stated, while describing the gesture as valuable and timely, as it will go a long way in enhancing the operation capabilities of the country's security forces especially in the areas of fighting illegal migration and other activities.

He described migration as an age-old phenomenon, stressing that fighting it is a daunting challenge as no country can do it alone. The Interior minister lamented that The Gambia, like other African countries has lost and continues to lose many of its youth who attempt to cross high seas and deserts in the hope of getting to Europe. He assured the Italian government through vice-minister Palma that the vehicles donated will be judiciously used and for the intended purpose adding that his ministry is committed to the fight against illegal migration, narcotics trafficking and other trans-national issues such as terrorism.

Also speaking at the occasion, Vice President Njie-Saidy thanked the government of Italy through the vice Interior minister, for what she described as a 'laudable initiative' and commitment.

According to her, this move clearly demonstrates how committed Italy is with regards to cooperating with The Gambia."Even before we signed an agreement, action has already started and that gives us hope that indeed, the future is bright with regards to the cooperation between the two countries," she said. She used the opportunity to thank the Gambian consular general based in Italy for his proactive role and being a very good representative of The Gambia in Italy.

She further spoke at length about the dangers associated with illegal migration noting that mostly, the people who are affected are the productive sector of the society. "Most of these youths are promised of better jobs in the West but most end up joining members of organised crime and other awful menaces," she posited, recounting that Italy has been renowned for tackling issues especially with regards to organised crime.

"So we hope you can assist us in building our capacity in areas like organised crime, money laundering, illegal migration, terrorism among a host of others, because we need to address this issue," she added.She then used the opportunity to thank the leadership of the country for creating an enabling environment for the youths, while emphasising that there are still unscrupulous people who send wrong information to the youths promising them jobs that don't exists in the West.

Prior to the presentation, the Italian vice minister of Interior, paid a courtesy call on The Gambia's vice president at her office at State House, Banjul.The Italian vice minister Minister of Interior and delegation were later hosted to a lunch at the Interior Ministry, before departing Banjul for Rome.