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
Ahmadiyya in the Gambia independence, in Farafenni, in 1969. The first Ahmadi Muslim caliph to visit the Gambia was Caliph III, Mirza Nasir Ahmad, whose visit in 1970 was instrumental in the launch of the Nusrat Jahan Scheme which has been responsible for the establishment of a number of schools in the country. On May 1, 1970 the Caliph arrived in Banjul, for a five-day visit, as part of his tour of West Africa. As part of his visit the Gambia, the caliph met Dawda Jawara, the then President of the Gambia, and a number of other public figures. Before the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community