20/11/2025
Civil Service University Participates in High-Level Seminar on China’s Development and Belt and Road Cooperation
Banjul, 17th November 2025
The Civil Service University (CSU), formerly MDI, through its representatives Madam. Pullo Ndow, Head of Department, Diplomacy & International Relations, and Mr. Lamin Gibba, Management Trainer also from the department of Diplomacy & International Relations respectively, successfully participated in the Seminar on China Study Experts for Belt and Road Countries, held from 9–29 October 2025 in Beijing and Guangzhou, China.
The seminar convened Directors and Senior Government officials from across Africa and Europe, including participants from The Gambia, Nigeria, Kenya, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and the African Union Representative. The training aimed to deepen understanding of China’s development model, governance systems, and global cooperation strategy under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Throughout the three-week program, participants explored China’s development trajectory since the reform and opening-up period. Technical sessions highlighted governance reforms, institutional coordination, and the functioning of the socialist market economy with Chinese characteristics.
The seminar also delivered a comprehensive analysis of the Belt and Road Initiative, its guiding philosophy, strategic objectives, global development footprint, and promising new avenues for cooperation.
Madam. Pullo Ndow and Mr. Lamin Gibba participated in lectures, workshops, and case studies that examined China’s modernisation agenda and its alignment with global development priorities. Participants also engaged in field visits to major cultural and developmental sites, such as the China Communist Party Museum, Temple of Heaven, the Great Wall, The Guangzhou Smart Elderly Ccare, and Lantern Village in Guangzhou, gaining firsthand exposure to China’s advances in digital innovation, environmental sustainability, and infrastructure development.
The seminar created valuable opportunities for building international networks among policymakers and experts from several countries. During the closing ceremony, Madam Pullo Ndow and Mr. Lamin Gibba jointly delivered a presentation reflecting on their experience, highlighting the lessons learned and the potential relevance for The Gambia.
They also advocated for the establishment of Chinese industrial parks in The Gambia to support the government’s development priorities. Additionally, they underscored the need for stronger cooperation in research, faculty and staff exchange, and student exchange programmes between the Civil Service University and Chinese universities.
Discussions throughout the program reinforced several potential areas for collaboration, including:
• Academic exchange programs
• Joint research initiatives
• Enhanced institutional partnerships under the BRI framework
The CSU delegation emphasised the importance of deepening engagement with Chinese universities and the Chinese Embassy in Banjul to support academic development and national capacity building.
The delegates finished their deliberation by extending their warmest gratitude to the Chinese Government, Ministry of Commerce, The University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (UCASS) and the Peoples Republic of China’s Embassy in Banjul.
