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Gambian senior defense official plans to discuss cooperation with Russian defense minister

According to the Gambian general, his country is interested in buying weapons and equipment for the army

PATRIOT PARK /Moscow Region/, August 14. /TASS/. General Mamat Cham, deputy Chief of Defense Staff of Gambia’s Armed Forces told TASS on Monday he plans to meet with Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu to discuss cooperation matters as his country is interested in closer ties with Russia in the military sphere.

"We are interested to talk with the minister of defense [of Russia Sergey Shoigu] to sign a memorandum of understanding to expand cooperation," he said on the sidelines of the Army 2023 international forum.

According to the Gambian general, his country is interested in buying weapons and equipment for the army. "We are part of the regional union of West African countries - [the Economic Community of West African States] ECOWAS and we are obliged to provide some troops for regional security. So, we ate looking for some equipment for troops," he noted.

"We have some peacekeeping operations as well. Last year, when we came here, we were looking for APCs (armored personnel carriers - TASS) we can buy. We are here to see what Russia has," he added.

The Army-2023 International Military-Technical Forum is taking place at the Patriot Congress and Exhibition Center, the Alabino shooting range and the Kubinka airfield on August 14-20. About 1,500 leading Russian defense enterprises will take part in the forum’s exhibition and business program. As many as 85 foreign companies and organizations from seven countries plan to participate in the forum. The event is being organized by the Russian Defense Ministry. TASS is its strategic media partner.