The United States Embassy in the Gambia on Tuesday celebrated its country’s 243rd Independence Day in a colorful ceremony at Cocoa Ocean in Bijilo.

The United States of America – the world’s only super power, gained its independence from Britain on July 2, 1776.

And the 2019 celebration in the Gambia brought together
officials of the U.S Embassy, U.S citizens in the Gambia, Gambia government officials and other dignitaries.

Speaking at the celebration ceremony, US Ambassador Carl Paschall expressed his delight and read a quote from the text of the Declaration of Independence and the most famous sentences in U.S history:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.”

Ambassador Paschall added that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among people deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

He recalled that in 1961, former president of the USA, John F Kennedy, challenged his nation to land astronauts on the moon before the decade was out, adding that this was a great competition between the United States and the Soviet Union of which the US wanted to get there first.

He said: “this was an effort to show that we were the leader in science, the leader in technology, the leader in engineering, and the boldest, most innovative nation on earth.”

“And we continue, to this day, to explore space, and we do so in coordination with countries around the world,” Ambassador Paschall told the gathering.

Meanwhile, he said the Gambia also played a vital role in the U.S Space Programme by partnering with NASA to support the numerous launches of the U.S space shuttle.

He said the Banjul International Airport was the site of the U.S- Gambia cooperation in the event of a space shuttle that was required to make an emergency landing. He expressed his country’s commitment to continuing that space cooperation with The Gambia.

He said technological advances has led to innovations that improves people’s health, food security, and transportation, while expressing hope that it will lead to advancements to help mankind overcome the many challenges like climate change, deadly diseases and global food shortages.

“But those advancements will not be possible if we do not invest in our youth and prepare them for an ever-changing world,” he said.