At the invitation of Gambian President Adama Barrow, Chinese President Xi Jinping's special envoy Zheng Jianbang attended the 15th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Banjul, capital of The Gambia, from May 4 to 5.

Zheng, vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress, read out Xi's congratulatory message at the opening ceremony of the summit. He conveyed Xi's warm greetings and congratulated The Gambia on successfully hosting the summit during a meeting with Gambian President Adama Barrow on May 5.

China and The Gambia are good friends and partners, he said, noting that China enjoys traditional friendship with the Islamic world. In recent years, China-Gambia relations have seen comprehensive and rapid development, with deepened mutual trust and fruitful cooperation in various fields, bringing tangible benefits to the two peoples, he added.

He said that China attaches great importance to developing its relations with The Gambia and is willing to enhance political mutual trust and firm mutual support, expand practical cooperation, strengthen exchanges between the legislative bodies of the two countries, and deepen coordination in international affairs, to continuously advance China-Gambia friendly cooperation to new heights.

Barrow asked Zheng to convey his cordial greetings to President Xi, and sincerely thanked the Chinese president for sending a special envoy to attend the event. Noting that China has provided significant assistance to The Gambia in its social and economic development, he said that The Gambia cherishes its friendship with China, firmly supports the one-China principle, and is ready to deepen cooperation with China in various fields to promote greater progress in bilateral relations.