A five-member delegation from the United State Congress last weekend ended their visit to the Gambia to assess the impact of the world financial crisis on the country's economy. The US congressmen were here as part of a seven-day continental tour of five African countries namely, The Gambia, Ethiopia, Botswana, Nigeria and Zimbabwe.
The delegation included Gregory W Meeks Democrat Congressman of New York, Melvin L Watt Democrat Congressman for North Carolina, Jack Kingston a Republican Congressman from Georgia and Bob Goodlatte another Republican Congressman from Virginia.
They are on a continent-wide tour to evaluate the role of international financial institutions and multilateral development banks on the continent, as well as consider financial and regulatory reforms being implemented in Africa’s largest economies to achieve sustained economic recovery from the global financial crisis.
The US congressmen spoke to newsmen at a press conference, held yesterday at Banjul international airport, shortly before their departure.
Gregory W Meeks Democrat Congressman of New York told local journalists about their mission which, he said, was to evaluate and make an individual assessment of the impact of the world financial crisis in the countries they toured. "We want know the effect of the crisis, and about the future plans," he added.
"We are concluding the seven-day tour in the Gambia, and our assessment is that the Gambia is not that much affected by the world financial crisis. We want to see how we can better partner with Gambia, and the countries we visited during the tour," New York's representative informed journalists.
He said the visit was also meant to strengthen the bilateral relationship between the Gambia and America. Congressman Weeks also thanked Gambians for the warm welcome accorded their delegation.
Talking about their findings during the tour, the US lawmaker added that in Nigeria they saw the substantial impact of the crisis there, ranging from the banks to other sectors.
Melvin L Watt Democrat Congressman from North Carolina also spoke about their visit, and the individual assessment they conducted.
According the US Congressman, the crisis has impacted on Nigeria very negatively.
Concerning the Gambia, he declared: "We look to continue our relationship with the Gambia."
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