Gambia will soon return to the Commonwealth under its new government, Britain’s foreign secretary said Tuesday after meeting with President Adama Barrow and pledging London’s support for this small West African nation following the departure of its leader of 22 years. BANJUL: British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said on Tuesday that Gambia, which is seeking to emerge from more than two decades of authoritarian rule, would be readmitted "as fast as possible" to the Commonwealth, a body whose African members he once maligned. The visit comes after longtime ruler Jammeh flew into exile last month under international pressure and the threat of a regional military intervention after refusing to accept his December election loss to Barrow. His democratically elected successor, President Barrow, has signalled that the country will return to multinational bodies, with Gambia reversing its process of withdrawal from the International Criminal Court, as well as announcing its intention to rejoin the Commonwealth. Gambia to rejoin The Commonwealth after four years

Gambia to rejoin The Commonwealth after four years

The Gambia is to rejoin The Commonwealth within months - after four years outside the group of 52 states.
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, during a visit to the Gambia, announces that the West African nation is to rejoin the Commonwealth of Nations following talks with Gambian President Adama Barrow. The Gambia withdrew from the Commonwealth in 2013 under Yahya Jammeh, who considered it a "neo-colonial institution".