African Caribbean Leadership forum honours Barrow

The forum honoured President Barrow with Global Inspirational Peace Leadership Award.

Vice President Jallow described forum as a platform to establish the requisite relationship between Africa and the Caribbean nations in the areas of policy making, trade and investment, innovation transfer and tourism.

“We must revisit our Pan-African ideals for a new dawn in Afro-Carib relations,” he said.

VP Jallow noted that Africa, being one of the continents with a huge potential for growth in terms of its abundant resources and youthful population, is confident that with the right leadership, good governance, stability and sound environmental management, the African Union Agenda 2063 and the United Nations SDGs are achievable. 

“Moreover, with the vast opportunities available in this noble continent, there is a need to leverage appropriate interventions that will enhance the realisation of such opportunities,” VP Jallow added.

In this regard, he said, a concerted effort is required by governments, civil society, and the private sector to focus on the prime objective of maximising the potentials into realities. “With the establishment of the Africa Continental Free-Trade Area (AfCFTA) and a population of 1.4 billion people, Africa is poised to become a huge global market and a new frontier for innovation and investments”.

VP Jallow described The Gambia as one of the smallest countries in West Africa with a population of 2.5 million people, citing that the youth constitute the majority and that the country is known for its hospitality.

“We are known as the Smiling Coast of West Africa due to the friendly disposition and hospitable nature of our people. Our society is anchored in social norms and cultural underpinnings that engender peace through a strong preference for amicable dispute resolution based on shared values and jovial relationships between tribes, individuals, and communities.”

“This is unique to The Gambia and has stabilised the country” he added.

“As a member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Africa Union, we are bound by instruments that foster integration and collaboration across Africa but we are also an integral part of the global village that we have become.”

Vice President Jallow informed that the country is also impacted by events that happen elsewhere.

“Over the last few years, The Gambia has equally been subjected to multiple shocks and crises especially, in the form of epidemics (Covid-19), the food and energy crises arising from the Russia-Ukraine war and climate-related disasters have all had a devastating impact on the economy and society,” he recalled.

VP Jallow noted that in spite of these global challenges and the tough national economic conditions, his government launched programmes to address national development priorities as well as confront challenges facing the society, given its desire to improve the lives and livelihoods of citizens.

“This plan was implemented and registered significant gains in all the priority areas. We have since developed a new successor plan which is called the ‘Green Recovery National Development Plan 2023-2027’. The goals of our new national plan have been aligned with the international development goals as in the SDGs and the African Union’s Agenda 2063,” VP Jallow informed fellow African leaders.

This plan, he said, in collaboration with partners and stakeholders, is committed to assisting communities and households recover from the multiple threats and build resilience against future shocks.

He called on the international community, friends and partners, including the African Diaspora, to accompany The Gambia’s in her journey to consolidate its nascent democracy by bringing much-needed development to its people.

Jallow continued that it is in pursuit of sustainable development that Government is prioritising the green recovery approach in meeting its long-term development aspirations.