Sering Modou Njie, Minister Of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad
By Fatou Sillah
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation, and Gambians Abroad, Sering Modou Njie, has confirmed that the Gambian government is actively engaging the United States regarding visa restrictions affecting Gambian citizens.
Speaking in an interview with West Coast Radio, Minister Njie explained that the restrictions form part of a broader US policy impacting approximately 75 countries, including The Gambia. He emphasized that the government has initiated diplomatic channels to address the matter.
“The first thing that we did was to have that kind of communication with the United States Embassy in Banjul, and we also instructed our mission in Washington to do the same with the State Department,” he said.
He stressed that the government does not wish to see a large number of Gambians returning from the US, citing the potential social and economic implications. “It is not in our interest to receive a massive number of our citizens coming back home. That is going to add more to the problem,” he said.
He noted that the U.S. policy currently impacts approximately 75 countries, including The Gambia, but said the restrictions are temporarily on hold and not fully enforced. “For now they are saying that it is put on pause and not yet being fully executed,” he said. “All visa applications are to be put on pause.”
He further highlighted that visa overstays are a key reason behind the restrictions. “They give you a visa probably for a visit, B1, B2, and other family visit visas and many other things, and now when you go at the expiration of the visa, usually we don’t come back home, and then if that happens, now the country is being penalized for that when you are caught having overstayed your visa,” he said.
The minister added that diplomatic engagements are ongoing in both Banjul and Washington, D.C., to resolve the issue, expressing optimism about progress.
“As we are talking now, in fact, my ambassador in Washington also has another meeting also with the chargé here in Banjul as well. He is currently also here, so you can see that we are now pursuing the matter at both fronts from Banjul and Washington as well,” he said.
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