The
Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA) and Senegalese Customs Administration Wednesday
signed a Memorandum of Understanding comprising 17 chapters and 41 articles,
all geared towards addressing key issues on understanding the administrative
and facilitation of trade.
The
MoU was signed by the two heads of the national customs administrations -
Yankuba Darboe and Papa Ousman Gueye of Senegal - at the end of the three-day
bilateral meeting held in Banjul.
The
signing of the MoU was witnessed by members of their senior management, and the
Senegalese ambassador Prof Saliou Ndiaye and Ambassador Paul Badjie of
Senegalo-Gambian permanent secretariat.
In
his closing remarks, GRA Commissioner General Yankuba Darboe said the three-day
forum had been very interactive, with the exchange of information geared
towards not only improving relations between the two administrations, but also
accelerating trade, among others.
“I
am confident that we will now graduate to the level of implementation and share
the gains together,” Mr Darboe declared.
The
forum witnessed sincere and frank discussions, which was highly mutually
beneficial to their work with the hope of improving understanding between the
two administrations, he added.
He said the gains would surely improve trade
relations between the two nations and even beyond, adding that the forum was born out of many follow-ups and consultations between the
two sister countries’ customs
administrations.
“I
would like to encourage all of us to work together to deepen the gains already
made, and continue to share the great news and work together with other
relevant stakeholders, such as traders and drivers, towards implementing the
agreement by establishing a joint customs post, information on transit among
other things on our bilateral relations; then the MoU could be seen as a
success,” he told participants.
“We
promise to work towards implementing the MoU and other agreements that are
aimed at bringing free trade and economic improvement for our people,” Mr
Darboe assured them.
He
thanked the Gambia government through the Ministry of Finance and Economic
Affairs for all the support given in the course of the three-day bilateral
meeting.
The
Director General of the Senegalese Customs Administration, Papa Ousman Gueye,
said the importance of the document could not be overemphasized, and that it
needs to be respected and implemented as agreed by the two administrations.
He
said the document had justified the confidence the two administrations have in
each other, adding that the document could be described as high quality and
could be used as working tool for both states to avoid misunderstandings.
According
to him, the two customs administrations should be proud to show the document to
their colleagues in the region, as it is a unique document.
“We
want to establish true cooperation between the two customs administrations, and
this is one way of establishing such cooperation by creating a MoU that will
serve as a guiding document for both sides,” he said.
Gueye
commended President Yahya Jammeh and the Gambian people for hosting the meeting
in Banjul. He also thanked GRA Commissioner General and his management staff
for their hospitality.