 |
| Sall and Barrow speaking to the press in Banjul, Tuesday (photo credit: Omar Wally) |
The meeting, held from March 11-13, 2018 in
Banjul, focused on bilateral issues of common interest.
It was preceded by talks between the Gambian
President Adama Barrow and his Senegalese counterpart Macky Sall.
The Presidential Council (of experts and ministers) was set up by a joint
communique between the two countries in March 2017 at the visit of the Gambian
president to Senegal.
It would
meet every six months, alternatively, in The Gambia and Senegal, under the
joint chairmanship of the two heads of state.
The meeting, attended by officials of the two governments,
examined all issues of bilateral interest.
Officials of the two countries said the biannual meeting
would provide guidance to the two governments for deepening cooperation.
Decisions reached by the Council are to be implemented by the
Senegalo-Gambian Permanent Committee, which is co-chaired by the Vice-President
of The Gambia and the Prime Minister of Senegal.
Last year, Barrow and Sall said they have “strong commitment”
to promote peaceful coexistence, good neighborliness and brotherly relations
based on mutual respect and trust.
Gambia’s Barrow has since announced the lifting of all
restrictions on industrial and artisanal foreign fishing vessels in The Gambia.
This includes the ban on cross-border trade on fish and fishery products.
However,
six months ago, Gambia begin negotiating deals with three private companies to
crack down on rampant illegal fishing in its territorial waters.
Illegal
fishing costs West Africa’s coastal nations around $2.3 billion a year, according
to Reuters news agency.
Six agreements
signed
On
Tuesday, The Gambia and Senegal signed six agreements at the end of the
Presidential Council meeting held in Banjul, attended by the heads of state of
the two countries.
The
agreements include assistance to detain and transfer of persons sentenced; road
transportation; health and animal production; cultural cooperation; sports; and
higher education, research, science and technology.
They
also agreed to strengthen cooperation on defence and security, justice,
consular affairs, free movement of people and goods, tourism, energy, and
environment.
As
part of the agreements, the two countries are to set up joint border patrols tofight trafficking in timber; to pursue extradition and mutual legal assistance
as a matter of judicial cooperation; and to share information to tackle
challenges arising from export, import, re-export and transit trade.
Gambia’s
President, Adama Barrow, said the two countries will work hard to implement the
areas of cooperation that have been signed.
“We
are committed to promote democracy for [the] socio-economic development of our
people through regular consultative meetings,” he said.
Senegal’s
President, Macky Sall, said the two countries are working closely to ensure
smoother cooperation and brotherly relations.
“Some
are building walls between people somewhere, The Gambia and Senegal are
building bridges,” he said.
Written by Modou S. Joof
Follow on Facebook: The North Bank Evening Standard
No comments:
Post a Comment
The views expressed in this section are the authors' own. It does not represent The North Bank Evening Standard (TNBES)'s editorial policy. Also, TNBES is not responsible for content on external links.