Cabinet Ministers, Permanent Secretaries and Senior Government Officials have been meeting with His Excellency the President Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr. Yahya Jammeh at a special retreat in Kanilai. The forum was initiated by President Jammeh aimed at accelerating the implementation of government plans for the successful attainment of Vision 2020.

Speaking on Thursday at the start of the meeting, President Jammeh underscored the importance of the meeting noting that it has been a long time since Cabinet met with Permanent Secretaries. The Gambian leader renewed his call for Gambians to continue to work for the interest of the nation. Professor Jammeh said honesty and dedication to duty are vital to the successful and speedy implementation of development initiatives. President Jammeh described Education, Health, Agriculture, and Infrastructure as key priority areas of development. The Gambian leader again called on department heads to create the conducive environment for their staff as well as take good care of government vehicles.

The Vice President Aja Dr. Isatou Njie-Saidy stressed the need to review the blue-print as it is midway towards its target date. Madam Njie-Saidy advised the officials to base their plans on available resources.

The Chairman National Planning Commission Alieu Ngum explained that Vision 2020 is an all-inclusive development blue-print which seeks to expedite the country's socio-economic development.

Speaking earlier, the Secretary General and Head of the Civil Service Dr. Njogu Bah thanked the ministers for submitting their proposals to the National Planning Commission on time and called on them to build on their achievements and plan ahead.