The Federal Republic of Germany has had diplomatic relations with the Gambia since it gained independence in 1965. What was once a relatively close relationship cooled off from 1994 to 2016 under the autocratic regime of President Yahya Jammeh. Since his election defeat in December 2016 and the ensuing return to democracy under the newly elected Gambian President, Adama Barrow, relations between the two countries have been intensifying once again. Germany opened an Embassy in Banjul, the capital of the Gambia, in May 2023.

Germany is supporting the Gambia in its efforts to set up democratic institutions, strengthen the labour market, tackle youth unemployment and reform the security sector, especially the transformation of the national police force into a community-oriented police force.

Trade between Germany and the Gambia is at a low level. Alongside tourism, remittances from the around 16,000 Gambians living in Germany are a key source of foreign currency for the country, which otherwise depends on agricultural exports (fish, peanuts, etc.).