Foreign relations of the Gambia 14 February 2017, The Gambia began the process of returning and formally presented its application to re-join to Secretary-General Patricia Scotland on 22 January 2018. Boris Johnson, who became the first British Foreign Secretary to visit The Gambia since the country gained independence in 1965, announced that the British government welcomed The Gambia's return to the Commonwealth. The Gambia rejoined on 8 February 2018. 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
Prostitution in the Gambia local "bumsters". Sex tourism in the Gambia attract western female tourists eager for sex with younger men. The Gambian Tourist Board plans to change the face of tourism in the country and encourage tourism for wildlife and heritage rather than sex. Child prostitution is a problem in the Gambia. The Gambian government is taking an active stance against it. Many young people turn to the sex trade due to poverty. The Gambia ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child on 3 August 1990, and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child in