State House, Banjul, 3 May 2024: H.E. President Barrow presided over a conferment ceremony to honour two distinguished personalities. The Chairman of the Islamic Development Bank, Dr Muhammad Sulaiman Al Jasser, was bestowed an Insignia of the Grand Commander of the Order of the Republic Of The Gambia. At the same time, an insignia of the Commander of the Order of the Republic of The Gambia was conferred on the Outgoing World Bank Team Leader for The Gambia, Dr Samuel Lantei Mills.

The honorary conferment recognises their profound achievements in their respective fields and enormous contributions to society, especially in the education and health sectors.

President Barrow recognises and celebrates the duo for serving in their distinguished roles and supporting The Gambia by investing in the welfare and well-being of the citizens.

“This is a manifestation of President Barrow’s commitment to the health and education sector.” Minister for Health, Hon. Dr Samateh, said.

Dr Al-Jasser has exemplarily contributed towards the socio-economic development of The Gambia. Under his leadership, the Islamic Development Bank has initiated tremendous interventions in The Gambia, such as, the development of the University of The Gambia, widening of Bertil Harding highway. He also contributed in enhancing value addition in groundnut sector, small ruminate production enhancement project, regional by-value rice chain development project, Gambia regional trade marking project, strengthening rural community adaptation, increase of rice production project, solar energy project, bi-lingual support education project, 20 megawatts Brikama power project, etc.

Dr. Al Jassar expressed his heartfelt gratitude to President Barrow for recognising his efforts, stressing that he is committed to fulfilling his duties with passion and dedication. He thanked the President for pushing IsDB to implement projects and ensure that they rendered services to the people of The Gambia.

On the other hand, Dr Mills has also made notable achievements under his leadership as the World Bank Team Leader for The Gambia. This includes establishing a state-of-the-art environmentally friendly waste management system, setting up the national food and drug quality control laboratory, construction and equipment of the Farato emergency treatment centre, intensive care unit, and emergency observation treatment, among others. In addition, the national diagnostic emerging centre project will be completed by 2024, contributing to the preparedness and response to future pandemics.

In his remarks during the proceedings, Dr Mills thanked The Gambian leader for the honour he had bestowed on him. He further reflected on the views and achievements of the World Bank and said, “The best days are yet to come.”

Delivering his remarks, Dr Samateh thanked the President for recognising the duo’s efforts, which shows the President’s commitment to the socio-economic development of The Gambia. He added that Dr Mills endeavoured to ensure the projects were implemented and carried out promptly, which demonstrated professionalism in his conduct.

Cabinet Ministers and Senior Government officials attended the ceremony.