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
Gambia Regiment 81st (West Africa) Division during its operations in WWII. Throughout 1900 and 1901, the Gambia had experienced an insurgency against British colonial rule, which was eventually suppressed by a military expedition, known as the Gambia Field Force, under Lieutenant Colonel H. E. Brake. It consisted of soldiers from the West India Regiment and the Central Africa Regiment. With the West African Frontier Force (WAFF) being founded in 1898, the Colonial Office made the decision to raise a company in The Gambia, initially to be part of the Sierra Leone Battalion. Captain F. O. Graham of the Royal Marines oversaw its