# Foreign relations of the Gambia

The Gambia followed a formal policy of non-alignment throughout most of former President Dawda Jawara's tenure. It maintained close relations with the United Kingdom, Senegal, and other African countries. The July 1994 coup strained The Gambia's relationship with Western powers, particularly the United States. Starting in 1995, President Yahya Jammeh established diplomatic relations with several additional countries, including Libya, the Republic of China (on Taiwan, before 2013), and Cuba. As scholars on Gambia's foreign policy have argued, throughout Jammeh's period, the country's foreign policy was a shifting sand, with little of direction.
Amat Jeng, a scholar on Gambia's foreign policy, argues that "The Gambia under Jammeh was not constrained by the bureaucratic hurly-burly which characterizes the foreign policy terrain of big democracies. In The Gambia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) had, on several occasions, been left in a vacuum, thereby placing it under the Office of the President. Between 1997 and 2013, the MFA had been occupied by more than 18 different ministers in more than 20 sworn-in occasions. This qualifies the argument that Jammeh had always had the power to fire ministers at will. In North Korea, the MFA has been occupied only by ten different foreign ministers since 1948." During Yahya Jammeh's presidency, The Gambia's foreign relations were characterized by a mix of isolationism, confrontational diplomacy, and strategic alliances. Jammeh's regime frequently clashed with Western nations over human rights issues, resulting in strained relations with the European Union and the United States. He often pursued alliances with non-Western countries, such as China, Iran, and Libya, to counterbalance Western influence and gain economic support. His administration also pulled The Gambia out of the Commonwealth in 2013, accusing the organization of neo-colonialism. Jammeh's unpredictable and authoritarian leadership style made Gambia's foreign policy under his rule highly controversial and often isolated the country on the international stage.
Despite these tensions, Jammeh's government engaged in regional diplomacy within West Africa, maintaining membership in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), though relations with neighboring Senegal were often tense due to border disputes and differing political stances. Jammeh's erratic foreign policy choices ultimately contributed to The Gambia's diplomatic isolation until his ouster in 2017.
During his last years, the EU grew increasingly intolerant of Jammeh's iron-fist rule. Consequently, Brussels withheld millions of Euros to The Gambia. Jammeh fired back by expelling the EU's top diplomat in the country after he had accused the bloc and human rights activists of conniving to besmirch the image of his government for its stance on homosexuality.

## Diplomatic relations

List of countries which the Gambia maintains diplomatic relations with:
Date :
| 1 | United Kingdom | 18 February 1965 |
| 2 | Japan | 18 February 1965 |
| 3 | Turkey | 18 February 1965 |
| 4 | South Korea | 21 April 1965 |
| 5 | Germany | 26 April 1965 |
| 6 | Senegal | 13 May 1965 |
| 7 | Lebanon | 24 May 1965 |
| 8 | Ghana | 28 May 1965 |
| 9 | Nigeria | 28 May 1965 |
| 10 | France | 31 May 1965 |
| 11 | Israel | 3 June 1965 |
| 12 | India | 25 June 1965 |
| 13 | Russia | 17 July 1965 |
| 14 | United States | 9 August 1965 |
| 15 | Spain | 14 August 1965 |
| 16 | Italy | 30 October 1965 |
| 17 | Liberia | 3 November 1965 |
| 18 | Mauritania | 15 December 1965 |
| 19 | Serbia | 1965 |
| 20 | Egypt | 31 January 1966 |
| 21 | Belgium | 7 February 1966 |
| 22 | Switzerland | 30 March 1966 |
| 23 | Morocco | 29 June 1966 |
| 24 | Netherlands | 1 August 1966 |
| 25 | Canada | 24 August 1966 |
| 26 | Ethiopia | 17 October 1966 |
| 27 | Sierra Leone | 10 December 1966 |
| 28 | Pakistan | 1967 |
| 29 | Sweden | 1968 |
| 30 | Austria | 1970 |
| 31 | Hungary | 14 June 1971 |
| 32 | Mali | 25 June 1971 |
| 33 | Romania | 30 July 1971 |
| 34 | Guinea | 6 August 1971 |
| 35 | Czech Republic | 19 February 1972 |
| 36 | Algeria | 22 May 1972 |
| 37 | Tunisia | 28 December 1972 |
| 38 | North Korea | 2 March 1973 |
| 39 | Vietnam | 30 October 1973 |
| 40 | Libya | 1973 |
| 41 | Saudi Arabia | 9 May 1974 |
| 42 | Guinea-Bissau | 10 August 1974 |
| 43 | Venezuela | 17 August 1974 |
| 44 | Kuwait | 29 August 1974 |
| 45 | China | 14 December 1974 |
| 46 | Zambia | 30 December 1974 |
| 47 | Bangladesh | 1974 |
| 48 | Poland | 21 January 1975 |
| 49 | Iran | 27 January 1975 |
| 50 | Cameroon | 8 March 1975 |
| 51 | Luxembourg | 15 April 1975 |
| 52 | United Arab Emirates | 9 July 1975 |
| 53 | Ivory Coast | 8 August 1975 |
| 54 | Mexico | 15 August 1975 |
| 55 | Portugal | 8 September 1976 |
| 56 | Malta | 21 October 1976 |
| 57 | Uganda | 16 November 1976 |
| 58 | Togo | 10 May 1977 |
| 59 | Suriname | 17 October 1977 |
| 60 | Qatar | 22 January 1978 |
| 61 | Cape Verde | January 1978 |
| — | Holy See | 7 June 1978 |
| 62 | Denmark | January 1979 |
| 63 | Brazil | 11 May 1979 |
| 64 | Cuba | 19 May 1979 |
| 65 | Argentina | 15 January 1980 |
| 66 | Oman | 4 February 1980 |
| 67 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 7 January 1981 |
| 68 | Niger | 23 February 1981 |
| 69 | Australia | 10 July 1981 |
| 70 | Malaysia | 1981 |
| 71 | Iraq | 16 February 1982 |
| 72 | Indonesia | 30 May 1982 |
| 73 | Bahrain | 6 February 1983 |
| 74 | Norway | 8 February 1983 |
| 75 | Thailand | 15 February 1985 |
| 76 | Yemen | 28 March 1985 |
| 77 | Bahamas | 1985 |
| 78 | Finland | 1 September 1988 |
| 79 | Colombia | 3 October 1988 |
| 80 | Maldives | 3 July 1989 |
| 81 | Namibia | 1990–1992 |
| 82 | Azerbaijan | 11 November 1994 |
| 83 | Slovakia | 18 August 1995 |
| 84 | Philippines | 26 June 1996 |
| 85 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 12 July 1996 |
| 86 | Latvia | 12 March 1998 |
| 87 | South Africa | 7 August 1998 |
| 88 | North Macedonia | 29 September 1998 |
| 89 | Croatia | 16 October 1998 |
| 90 | Ukraine | 2 July 1999 |
| 91 | Costa Rica | 26 October 1999 |
| 92 | Lithuania | 17 February 2000 |
| 93 | Kyrgyzstan | 30 June 2000 |
| 94 | Cyprus | 8 December 2000 |
| 95 | Ireland | 29 May 2001 |
| 96 | Estonia | 30 May 2001 |
| 97 | Belarus | 10 April 2002 |
| 98 | Mauritius | 4 March 2003 |
| 99 | Iceland | 11 May 2004 |
| 100 | Madagascar | 20 July 2004 |
| 101 | San Marino | 29 October 2004 |
| 102 | Slovenia | 25 August 2005 |
| 103 | Guatemala | 25 September 2006 |
| 104 | Jordan | 13 March 2007 |
| 105 | Uruguay | 25 September 2007 |
| 106 | Sudan | 13 February 2008 |
| 107 | Kenya | 15 October 2008 |
| 108 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 2 March 2009 |
| 109 | Guyana | 24 September 2009 |
| 110 | Georgia | 21 April 2010 |
| 111 | Paraguay | 22 April 2010 |
| 112 | Cambodia | 28 April 2010 |
| 113 | Myanmar | 13 January 2011 |
| 114 | Kazakhstan | 26 April 2011 |
| 115 | Solomon Islands | 19 May 2011 |
| 116 | Jamaica | 29 November 2011 |
| 117 | Ecuador | 1 December 2011 |
| 118 | Mongolia | 22 December 2011 |
| 119 | Moldova | 12 June 2012 |
| 120 | Zimbabwe | 19 July 2012 |
| 121 | Dominica | 26 July 2012 |
| 122 | Tuvalu | 26 July 2012 |
| 123 | Turkmenistan | 9 August 2012 |
| 124 | Montenegro | 16 August 2012 |
| 125 | Kiribati | 27 September 2012 |
| 126 | Nauru | 27 September 2012 |
| 127 | Rwanda | 14 July 2014 |
| 128 | Fiji | 24 October 2014 |
| 129 | Singapore | 23 January 2015 |
| 130 | Brunei | 21 January 2016 |
| 131 | Saint Lucia | 13 April 2016 |
| 132 | Saint Kitts and Nevis | 6 June 2016 |
| — | Kosovo | 23 September 2016 |
| 133 | Tajikistan | 18 December 2017 |
| 134 | Armenia | 9 October 2018 |
| 135 | Malawi | 19 February 2019 |
| 136 | Tanzania | 25 April 2019 |
| 137 | Dominican Republic | 10 May 2019 |
| 138 | Sri Lanka | 10 May 2019 |
| 139 | Nicaragua | 8 July 2019 |
| 140 | Nepal | 24 May 2021 |
| 141 | Djibouti | 1 July 2021 |
| 142 | Chad | 31 August 2021 |
| 143 | Gabon | 1 September 2021 |
| 144 | Angola | 3 September 2021 |
| 145 | Comoros | 11 October 2021 |
| 146 | Burundi | 15 October 2021 |
| 147 | Equatorial Guinea | 29 May 2022 |
| 148 | Republic of the Congo | 17 June 2022 |
| 149 | Somalia | 22 June 2022 |
| — | Sovereign Military Order of Malta | 20 September 2023 |
| 150 | Belize | 22 September 2023 |
| 151 | Seychelles | 16 November 2023 |
| 152 | Botswana | 13 February 2024 |
| 153 | Uzbekistan | 14 March 2024 |
| 154 | Marshall Islands | 25 September 2024 |
| 155 | Benin | Unknown |
| 156 | Burkina Faso | Unknown |
| 157 | Greece | Unknown |
| — | State of Palestine | Unknown |

## Bilateral relations
### Africa

| Country | Formal Relations Began | Notes |
| Algeria | | The two countries maintain diplomatic relations. |
| Benin | | The two countries maintain diplomatic relations. |
| Botswana | | The two countries maintain diplomatic relations. |
| Burkina Faso | | The two countries maintain diplomatic relations. |
| Cape Verde | | The two countries maintain diplomatic relations. |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | | The two countries maintain diplomatic relations. |
| Ghana | | The two countries maintain diplomatic relations. |
| Guinea | | Both countries established diplomatic relations on 6 August 1971 when Guinea's first resident Ambassador in Bathurst Boubacar Kassory Bangoura, has presented his credentials to President Jawara. |
| Guinea-Bissau | | Both countries established diplomatic relations on 10 August 1974, when first ambassador of The Gambia Mr Sam Sarr presented his credentials to head of state Luis Cabral |
| Kenya | | The two countries maintain diplomatic relations. |
| Liberia | | The two countries maintain diplomatic relations. |
| Libya | | The two countries maintain diplomatic relations. |
| Mali | 25 June 1971 | Both countries established diplomatic relations on 25 June 1971 when Gambia's first Ambassador to Mali , Mr. Samuel Jonathan Okiki Sarr , presented his credentials to the Head of States , Lieut. Traore. |
| Mauritania | | The two countries maintain diplomatic relations. |
| Morocco | | The two countries maintain diplomatic relations and the Gambia supports Morocco in regards to the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. |
| Namibia | | The two countries maintain diplomatic relations. |
| Niger | | Both countries were members of ECOWAS. |
| Nigeria | | The two countries maintain diplomatic relations. |
| Rwanda | | The two countries maintain diplomatic relations. |
| Somalia | | The two countries maintain diplomatic relations. |
| Sudan | | The two countries maintain diplomatic relations. |
| Tanzania | | The two countries maintain diplomatic relations. |
| Tunisia | 1972 | The two countries maintain diplomatic relations. |
| Uganda | | The two countries maintain diplomatic relations. |
| Zambia | | The two countries maintain diplomatic relations. |

### Asia

| Country | Formal Relations Began | Notes |
| Azerbaijan | 11 November 1994 | See Azerbaijan-Gambia relations On November 11, 1994, Azerbaijan and the Gambia signed the Protocol on the establishment of diplomatic relations. |
| Bangladesh | | Bangladesh and Gambia maintain diplomatic relations. |
| China | 14 December 1974 | See China–Gambia relations China and Gambia reestablished diplomatic relations on 17 March 2016. |
| India | 25 June 1965 | See Gambia–India relations Both countries established diplomatic relations on 25 June 1965 |
| Iran | | Both countries maintain diplomatic relations. |
| Iraq | 16 February 1982 | Both countries established diplomatic relations on 16 February 1982 when the Gambian president , Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara , has received the credentials of Nadim Ahmad al - Yasin , as Iraq's nonresident ambassador to the Republic of Gambia. |
| Israel | | Both countries reestablished diplomatic relations on 13 September 1992. |
| Kuwait | | Both countries maintain diplomatic relations. |
| Malaysia | 1981 | Both countries established diplomatic relations in 1981 See Gambia–Malaysia relations The Malaysian embassy in Dakar is accredited to The Gambia while the Gambian embassy in Abu Dhabi is accredited to Malaysia. The relations are friendly and warm. |
| Oman | | Both countries maintain diplomatic relations. |
| State of Palestine | | Gambia and the State of Palestine maintain diplomatic relations. |
| Taiwan | — | See Gambia–Taiwan relations The Gambia firstly established diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan) in 1968, three years after The Gambia gained its independence from the United Kingdom. In 1974, The Gambia switched diplomatic relations from ROC to the People's Republic of China but switched again back to ROC in 1995. In December 2006, the Premier of the Republic of China (Taiwan) completed an official visit to the Gambia in part to pay respects to President Jammeh's inaugural ceremony and to donate funds for medical purposes. The Gambian Secretary of State reciprocated with an official visit to Taiwan. There have been several occasional official visits between the two countries. The People's Republic of China cut ties with the Gambia in 1995 after the latter established diplomatic links with the Republic of China (Taiwan). After 18 years, however, Gambian President Yahya Jammeh announced the breaking of diplomatic ties with ROC to recognize PRC on 14 November 2013 citing national strategic interest, immediately even after receiving US$6.6 million worth of aid from the Republic of China (Taiwan) earlier. The ROC officially terminated its ties with The Gambia four days later on 18 November 2013. In an unprecedented move, however, the PRC did not respond to Gambia's offer to establish diplomatic relations, presumably because of its desire to improve relations with Taiwan. The PRC and Gambia reestablished diplomatic relations on 17 March 2016. |
| Turkey | 18 February 1965 | The Gambia has an embassy in Ankara. Turkey has an embassy in Banjul. There are direct flights from Istanbul to Banjul since August 2018. |
| United Arab Emirates | | Both countries maintain diplomatic relations. |

### Americas

| Country | Formal Relations Began | Notes |
| Mexico | 15 August 1975 | Both countries established diplomatic relations on 15 August 1975 Mexico is accredited to The Gambia from its embassy in Accra, Ghana. |
| United States | 9 August 1965 | See Gambia–United States relations Both countries established diplomatic relations on 9 August 1965 U.S. policy seeks to build improved relations with the Gambia on the basis of historical ties, mutual respect, democratic rule, human rights, and adherence to UN resolutions on counterterrorism, conflict diamonds, and other forms of trafficking. In accordance with U.S. law, most direct bilateral development and military assistance to the Gambia was suspended because of the 1994 coup d'état. U.S. assistance continues, however, in the form of food aid administered through Catholic Relief Services, support for democracy and human rights projects, and the financing of girls' secondary education. In addition, the Peace Corps maintains a large program with about eighty volunteers engaged in the environment, public health, and education sectors, mainly at the village level. The Gambia is also a member of the International Criminal Court with a Bilateral Immunity Agreement of protection for the US-military (as covered under Article 98). |

### Europe

| Country | Formal Relations Began | Notes |
| Austria | | The two countries maintain diplomatic relations. |
| Belgium | | Gambia has an embassy in Brussels. |
| Greece | | The two countries maintain diplomatic relations. |
| Italy | | Italy is represented in Gambia through its embassy in Dakar, Senegal. |
| Luxembourg | | Gambia is represented in Luxembourg through its embassy in Brussels. |
| Netherlands | | Gambia is represented in the Netherlands through its embassy in Brussels. |
| Russia | 17 July 1965 | See Gambia–Russia relations Both countries established diplomatic relations on 17 July 1965. |
| Spain | 14 August 1965 | See Gambia–Spain relations Both countries established diplomatic relations on 14 August 1965 |
| Sweden | | Gambia and Sweden maintain diplomatic relations. |
| Switzerland | | Gambia and Switzerland maintain diplomatic relations. |
| United Kingdom | 18 February 1965 | An 1889 agreement with France established the present boundaries. The Gambia became a British Crown Colony, British Gambia, divided for administrative purposes into the colony (city of Banjul and the surrounding area) and the protectorate (remainder of the territory). The Gambia received its own executive and legislative councils in 1901 and gradually progressed toward self-government. It passed a 1906 ordinance abolishing slavery. During World War II, Gambian troops fought with the Allies in Burma. Banjul (then named Bathurst) served as an air stop for the U.S. Army Air Corps and a port of call for Allied naval convoys. U. S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt stopped overnight in Banjul en route to and from the Casablanca Conference in 1943, marking the first visit to the African continent by a sitting American president. After World War II, the pace of constitutional reform increased. Following general elections in 1962, the United Kingdom granted full internal self-governance in the following year. The Gambia achieved independence on 18 February 1965, as a constitutional monarchy within the Commonwealth of Nations. |

### Pacific

| Country | Formal Relations Began | Notes |
| Australia | | The two countries maintain diplomatic relations. |

## The Gambia and the Commonwealth of Nations

The Gambia was a member of the Commonwealth of Nations from its independence in 1965 until its withdrawal in October 2013.
After presidential elections in 2016, the winning candidate Adama Barrow promised to return The Gambia to the Commonwealth. On 14 February 2017, The Gambia began the process of returning and formally presented its application to re-join to Secretary-General Patricia Scotland on 22 January 2018. Boris Johnson, who became the first British Foreign Secretary to visit The Gambia since the country gained independence in 1965, announced that the British government welcomed The Gambia's return to the Commonwealth.