Oostende - Banjul

The city of Ostend bought the fishing boat in sister city Banjul and naval vessel 'A960 Godetia' brought the small vessel to Belgium. On November 22, 2022, city employees placed the traditional boat on Jan Piersplein, near the Mercator.

The traditional painted wooden fishing boat, a so-called 'pirogue', symbolizes the twinning between the city of Ostend and Banjul.

Fishermen in Banjul use the pirogues for fishing, but the vessels are also used to transport goods and people. Handcrafted fishing boats with their typical brightly colored canoe-like hull depart every day from Banjul beach. In Banjul, it takes master carpenters up to a month to make a custom pirogue. Their workshop is Banjul beach where you can see them at work. The fishing boats are painted by hand in a traditional way. The colors and the unique pattern are often inspired by the Gambian flag. The copy in Ostend bears colors that refer to the Gambian and Belgian flags. The many eyes on the torso form a protection against evil forces. The Graphic Atelier of the City of Ostend applied the words 'Ostend Banjul'.

The city link between Banjul and the City of Ostend is a unique form of international cooperation and will celebrate its twentieth anniversary in 2023. Both cities are working together in the field of urban greening, climate control, better waste policy, social inclusion, education, digitization and innovation. In 2019, the City of Ostend won 3 million euros in grants from the European Union for sustainable development in Banjul.

Banjul is the capital and fourth largest city of The Gambia. The city has over 34,000 inhabitants and is located on the west coast of Africa, at the mouth of the Gambia River, close to the Atlantic Ocean.