Turkey Donates Security Gears to Gambian Police
The Turkey’s Embassy donates 40ft of personal and safety protective gear to the Police Intervention Unit (PIU) of The Gambia as part of preparation of the hosting of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) Summit.
The Summit is due to hold in 2022 for the first time in the country.
The security gadgets were 100 gas filters, 115 protective gears, 100 helmets, 100 respirators, 180 shields and 100 batons amongst others, meant to boost the operational readiness of the forces in areas of crowd control and public order management.
The Inspector General of the Gambia Police Force Mamoud Jobe said the donation would greatly enhance the operational capacity of the police force in areas of public order management
“This equipment is consistent with the standard unit requirement for all modern and professional police forces around the world”
The Chief Executive Officer of the OIC Secretariat Yankuba Dibba, said the secretariat has explored ways and means to harness other potential areas of support in getting a security command center in the Conference Center
“In the recent weeks, I am happy to note that the Secretariat has broken new ground in Turkey’s Gambia relations. We have the good fortune to engage TIKKA; TIKKA is the agency for international development for Turkey. We engage them to support us in areas of social corporate responsibilities,” he said.
Turkey’s Ambassador Tolga Bermek said his government has always considered the OIC as an indispensable common institutional framework of ability and solidarity in the Islamic world, noting that the hosting of the OIC summit requires strong security arrangements.
“Now we’re ready to share our experience and knowledge with the Gambia as a brotherly country who would undertake the challenge of the OIC after two years. We want the OIC to gain effective and efficient organisation in defending the interest of the ‘Ummah’
In the past two years, more than 1,200 security officers were trained both in Turkey and The Gambia on VIP protection, public order management, counter terrorism, and finger printing,” according to the authorities.
The Gambia was expected to host the second largest world gathering in 2019 but failed due to unreadiness.
Omar Faye is a reporter with Choice FM Radio and Freelancing for the Chronicle. He’s currently studying Journalism and Communication at the Media Academy for Journalism and Communication (MAJaC).
