Seychelles and The Gambia officially established diplomatic relations on Thursday by signing a joint communiqué, the Foreign Affairs Department said on Thursday.

The joint communiqué was signed in Addis Ababa by Ambassador Jainaba Jagne from The Gambia and Ambassador Conrad Mederic from Seychelles, who are both accredited to Ethiopia.

The two Ambassadors recognised the signing as "a historic and significant occasion" since it is the first time Seychelles has signed a joint communiqué to establish relations with another country on the African continent.

They both agreed that the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries has been long outstanding and that the signing marks the beginning of fruitful relations.

Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, and The Gambia are Small African States and members of the African Union and the Commonwealth.

The ambassadors agreed that these platforms can be common grounds for further collaboration and exchanges on various mutual matters of concern.

They also acknowledged the need to explore mutually beneficial areas for bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

In September 2022, a delegation of 10 members from The Gambia visited Seychelles to learn from the experience of the island state's Public Enterprise Monitoring Commission (PEMC). 

The mission, supported by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), came after the Gambian authorities established a new Directorate, the State Owned Enterprises (SOE) Department, with the mandate to oversee SOEs across the country.