H.E. Zehra Zümrüt SELÇUK paid a courtesy visit to H.E. Haddy Jatou SEY, Minister of Basic and Secondary Education (MoBSE) of Gambia. The meeting aimed to explore possible cooperation areas between SESRIC and MoBSE towards contributing to the capacity development in education sector of Gambia.

Recognizing education as a cornerstone of sustainable development and socio-economic progress, H.E. SELÇUK and H.E. SEY underscored the importance of bringing about synergies to address the changing needs and challenges within Gambia's educational sector.

H.E. SELÇUK underlined that SESRIC’s capacity-building activities are tailored to enhance the capacities of the OIC Member Countries and SESRIC's extensive capacity-building initiatives particularly on technical and vocational education and training provide a valuable foundation for identifying the avenues to further strengthen Gambia's capacity in this field.

She added that, to date, Gambia has benefited from a total of 69 capacity-building activities related to education organized by SESRIC, highlighting the tangible impact of collaborative efforts in enhancing educational quality and effectiveness.

In turn, H.E. SEY highlighted that their strategic priorities and synergies with the ongoing educational initiatives and policies within Gambia are the building blocks of the country’s future. She added that around 40% of Gambia’s population are in the education sector, as either students or teachers in basic and secondary education. Based on this fact, H.E. SEY stated the willingness to increase their engagement and involvement in the relevant capacity building programmes of SESRIC.

At the end of the meeting, both parties agreed to strengthening their collaboration towards advancing educational goals and empowering the youth of Gambia.