Summary:
The Gambia’s President has entrusted the new ECOWAS representative to The Gambia to make it simple to transport people, products, and services across borders within the regional bloc and throughout Africa.
President Barrow has entrusted the new ECOWAS representative to The Gambia to develop plans to make it simple to transport people, products, and services across borders within the regional bloc and throughout Africa. To increase the 12% trade inside the continent, countries need to have a choice of transit. The President delivered the remarks at the State House in Banjul as he accepted the letters of credence from Ms. Miatta Lily French, the ECOWAS Resident Representative to The Gambia.
The President added that ECOWAS member states should make the most effective use of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement to improve trade conditions.
President Barrow expressed confidence in the new ECOWAS Resident Representative’s abilities to strengthen the Commission’s work and address unconstitutional governance in the West African States when speaking about political stability in the sub-region.
Ms. French praised President Barrow for the cordial greeting in a statement to the media following her presentation. Given the ongoing political unrest in various areas of the ECOWAS sub-region, she commended The Gambia for its current state of political calm.
The activities of regional organizations in The Gambia
The activities of regional organizations in The Gambia, like the West Africa Police Information Systems, the ECOWAS Regional Competitive Authority, and the Regional Stabilization Fund, which is currently financing some projects in The Gambia, were some of the topics Ms. French mentioned in her discussions with the President.
The Resident Representative described The Gambia’s position in ECOWAS as follows: “It is one of the smaller countries in ECOWAS, but now holding the president of the Commission, and I think it is a fantastic opportunity for it to expand and to show itself as a force to reckon with.”
Ms. French responded that West Africa might be food independent when asked about ECOWAS’ plans and attempts to address the food crisis in the Sub-region. The problem, though, is to boost output while ensuring that cross-border trade is made simple and available in the sub-region. One of the presidents worries that we should be able to transport products across borders so what happens in the West does not affect us. It is up to us to maximize our output and ensure that whatever is produced moves. She concluded that countries must combine resources and build the proper infrastructure to enable commerce.
Analysis by: Advocacy Unified Network
