IV. CO-OPERATION AND INTEGRATION

i. Bilateral Relations

Mr. Speaker, Sir,

52. 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 Iran, Cuba, Senegal, Nigeria, Mali, Guinea Bissau 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.

53. 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 recognize 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, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar. We applaud their assistance and sacrifice 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, Maurtania, Ghana and Nigeria.

ii. Sub-Regional Cooperation and Integration

54. The predominant activity in the ECOWAS region for the past few years has been the drive towards establishing the second monetary zone (WAMZ), as the first stage to realizing the goal of a West African Monetary Zone. 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 has put in doubt the feasibility of the July 2005 proposed launch date. These issues are being addressed by the WAMZ member countries in an assessment study of the feasibility of the proposed date to ensure that the ECO takes off on a sound footing.

55. For the end-year assessment of the attainment of the primary convergence criteria for the WAMZ countries, The Gambia will attain, by the end of December 2004, three of the four primary convergence criteria, namely the budget deficit primary convergence criteria, the primary convergence criteria for international reserves and the no borrowing from the Central Bank primary convergence criteria. There is a strong possibility that the inflation rate primary convergence criteria may also be attained. This will make The Gambia one of the few countries in the WAMZ Group that will attain three or all the primary convergence criteria.

56. 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, especially, peacekeeping roles in the sub-region.

57. At the level of the African Union (AU), the prevailing and underlying force for economic reform has been the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). NEPAD aims to consolidate democracy and sound economic management in order to promote peace and stability in the continent. Government has assigned NEPAD affairs to the Department of State for Finance and Economic Affairs, which has now created a NEPAD Unit to be fully operational in 2005.

iii. Relations with our Development Partners

Mr Speaker Sir,

58. 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, IMF, 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.

-end.