Foreign relations of the Gambia Foreign relations of the Gambia The Gambia followed a formal policy of non-alignment throughout most of former President Dawda Jawara's tenure. It maintained close relations with the United Kingdom, Senegal, and other African countries. The July 1994 coup strained the Gambia's relationship with Western powers, particularly the United States. Since 1995, President Yahya Jammeh has established diplomatic relations with several additional countries, including Libya, the Republic of China (on Taiwan, before 2013), and Cuba. The Gambia plays an active role in international affairs, especially West African and Islamic affairs, although its representation abroad is limited. As a member of the
Gambia–Philippines relations exploration following the recent discovery of oil in his country. Jammeh offered one block out of the five oil deposits in the Gambia to the Philippines to be developed in the proposed joint oil exploration. The Philippines agreed to conduct a joint oil exploration with the Gambia. The agreement was said to be the fruits of the New Asian–African Strategic Partnership signed by both countries in Jakarta. The Philippine National Oil Company subsequently said that the first 5 blocks offered did not show much potential, but that they were interested in the sixth block. The Gambia also wanted to reciprocate