Gambia’s foreign minister has said the country will not negotiate with the EU with respect to its anti-gay laws in return for aid.

The President of Gambia recently signed a bill which calls for life imprisonment for people caught having gay sex, using near-identical language to Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act.

Gambian Foreign Minister Bala Garba Jahumpa appeared appeared on television last night in an address to the nation, in which he attacked homosexuality as “Satanic” ungodly behaviour, which is “detrimental to human existence”.

According to AP and Gambia Affairs, he said: “We the government and people of The Gambia hereby make it very clear to the Union European and any outside bloc that wants to impose acceptance of homosexuals as a pre-condition for aid that we will never accept that conditionality no matter how much aid is involved.

“As from today, we are no longer going to entertain any dialogue on the issue with the European Union or any other foreign power for that matter.

“Our country’s socio-economic development depends only on the Almighty Allah’s benevolence.

“We also hereby declare that The Gambia will always be an independent, dignified and Allah worshipping Muslim country where our way of life; our laws will be based on our Islamic values, that is, the strict adherence to our Islamic faith.

“This being the case, any agreement, convention or protocol that is at variance with our Islamic faith, economic prosperity and our national security interest will be surely rejected outright.

“We will never be a party to such decadence and will never ratify such conventions.

“Our laws are promulgated to ensure peace, security and our African and Islamic heritage and will be strengthened and enforced to the letter and spirit and will not be repealed.”