Press Release (Ministry of Interior)
The Minister of Interior, Seyaka Sonko, on 18 May 2023 received in audience the Director General of Estonia Police and Border Guard Board, Mr Egert Belitsev, and his team.
DG Belitsev was accompanied to the Interior ministry by the Director General of the Gambia Immigration Department, Seedy M. Touray. The purpose of his visit was to strengthen bilateral relations between the Republic of Estonia and the Republic of The Gambia, especially on security.
During the meeting, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, Mr Assan Tangara, welcomed Director General Egert Belitsev and his delegation, and conveyed his heartfelt appreciation and gratitude to the team for their timely courtesy call on the Ministry.
The Director General of Estonia Police and Border Guard Board, Mr Egert Belitsev, said Estonia and The Gambia have a lot of similarities including population size. He commended the country for choosing a democratic system of government. "The size of a country does not matter; all you need is to be smart and develop yourself," he said.
He said that part of his visit was to share knowledge and experience as well as look forward to more areas of cooperation. He announced that his Institution, through the government of Estonia, will soon donate uniforms to the line institutions of the Ministry of Interior.
Other areas of interest, according to the visiting DG, included capacity building of security personnel, noting that previous trainings were very beneficial to both countries.
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He thanked Minister Sonko, the Permanent Secretary and the service chiefs for their outstanding work.
The Minister of Interior, Mr Seyaka Sonko highlighted the significance of cooperation and partnership with countries, noting that a lot can be addressed through collaboration.
The Minister thanked Estonian authorities for all the support they have rendered to The Gambia.
The Director General of The Gambia Immigration, Mr Seedy M. Touray, said The Gambia is one of the smallest countries Mr Belitsev had visited after his appointment as Director General of Estonia Police.
He said Mr Belitsev's institution is responsible for ensuring policing, immigration and drug law enforcement matters in the Republic of Estonia. He acknowledged their donation of some singlets to the Immigration Department.
Members of the visiting delegation included Mr Przemyslaw Szyk, Operational Officer, FRONTEX; Mr Sten-Fred Poder, EURLO/EU Delegation/ Estonian Police and Border Guard Board; Ms Eve Rand, Development Expert, International Cooperation Unit, Police and Border Guard Board, Estonia.
