42) Stability is the key to any meaningful growth and development,
and no meaningful development can take place in the absence of peace
and security. It is for this reason that The Gambia's Foreign Policy
is under pinned by the fundamental principle of the maintenance of international
Peace and Cooperation for Development. Guided by this, The Gambia Government
will continue to be in the fore front of peace initiatives both in the
Sub-region and beyond. Furthermore, Government has continued to cooperate
with its development partners to ensure greater prosperity for the Gambian
people.
43) The coming year will be very crucial for The Gambia, as
the country prepares to host the African Union (AU) Summit in July,
2006. Government will continue to cooperate with friendly countries
and other organizations, institutions, and individuals to ensure the
success of the upcoming African Union Summit, which will be a landmark
in The Gambia's diplomatic history.
a. Bilateral Relations
44) At the bilateral cooperation level, The Gambia
has, over the past year, initiated and sustained efforts at convening
sessions of Joint Ministerial Commissions, notably with Senegal, Mauritania,
Guinea Bissau, Mali, Nigeria, Cuba, Iran and other countries. These
efforts are geared towards facilitating trade and other cooperation
arrangements, which are expected to contribute to the creation of wealth,
prosperity and genuine cooperation.
45) In this global village, development effort has
ceased to be the sole responsibility of individual sovereign nations.
It is now a task that is shared with friendly nations, international
organizations, and institutions. Along this line, and through various
cooperation agreements, The Gambia has continued to receive assistance
from various bilateral partners in different areas of development. The
Gambia Government would like to recognise the contributions of the United
Kingdom, Egypt, Federal Republic of Germany, Japan, United States of
America, France, Republic of China (Taiwan), Iran, Italy, Kingdom of
Netherlands, Kingdom of Belgium, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar,
the Kingdom of Morocco, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, India and Pakistan.
Government has recently concluded bilateral agreements with the South
East Asian countries of the Philippines, the kingdom of Thailand and
Indonesia, and also the Latin American country of Brazil. We applaud
their assistance to The Gambia, as we look forward to further cooperation.
The Gambia continues to enjoy close cooperation with her neighbours
namely, Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry, Mauritania, Sierra Leone,
Ghana and Nigeria. This cooperation will also be extended to the newly
elected Government of Liberia.
b. Sub-Regional Cooperation and Integration
46) The predominant activity in the Economic Community
of West African States (ECOWAS) region for the past few years has been
the drive towards establishing the second monetary zone, as the first
stage towards realizing the goal of a West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ).
Since its inception in 2000, the West African Monetary Institute (WAMI)
has come a long way towards launching the ECO, the proposed single currency
for the WAMZ countries. However, the macroeconomic environment in most
WAMZ member countries was not conducive enough to launch the ECO on
the 1st July, 2005 proposed date. The new date slated for for the launching
of the ECO is 1st January, 2007.
47) For the end-year (2005) assessment of the attainment
of the primary convergence criteria for the West African Monetary Zone
(WAMZ) countries, The Gambia has attained, as of September 2005, three
of the four primary convergence criteria, namely: inflation, borrowing
from the Central Bank, and gross official reserves. The budget deficit
Primary Convergence Criterion has been missed.
48) As the essence of the single currency is to further
enhance trade within the sub region, other ECOWAS protocols that support
the free movement of goods, services and persons are being reactivated,
and implemented. Government is also committed to other ECOWAS initiatives,
such as the implementation of the Ecowas Common External Tariff. The
Gambia has committed itself to the full implementation of the ECOWAS
Common External Tariff (CET) to facilitate intra-regional trade as a
means of regional integration. The full implementation of the ECOWAS
(CET) will lead to the establisment of a Customs Union within the sub-region,
and eventual integration of the African region, and help attract greater
investments to Africa.
49) At the level of the African Union (AU), the prevailing
and underlying force for economic reform and development has been the
New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). NEPAD aims to consolidate
democracy and sound economic management in order to promote peace, stability
and development in the continent.
Mr. Speaker, Sir.
50) Government has continued to strengthen the country's
relationship with its development partners. In this respect, Government
is currently making all efforts to strengthen relationship with the
European Union, and has recently signed an Agreement to upgrade EU representation
in The Gambia. Government has, also, during the course of the year,
continued to receive substantial support from the World Bank, UNDP,
UN related Agencies, and the ADB/ADF, in various fields of the country's
development. Other donor partners in our development efforts include
BADEA, the Kuwaiti Fund, the Saudi Fund, the Islamic Development Fund
and the OPEC Fund, etc.
51) I would like to inform the National Assembly of the eligibility
of The Gambia for the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA). This Account
affords eligible countries access additional resources to assist them
towards achieving their development targets of global recognition. The
MCA is not for new strategies; rather, proposals for funding from the
Account should be based on a nation's own national development strategy,
such as the World Bank and the IMF-initiated Poverty Reduction Strategy
papers (PRSP). This is to strengthen the synergies of local ownership,
donor coordination, and policy coherence.
-end.