The meeting came in response to the desire and vision of the three heads of state and by extension foreign ministers the opportunity to reflect, discuss and make recommendations on what they collectively urgently need to do to address the pressing demands and challenges of the people in a bid to transform and better their lives.
At the end of the meeting, Momodou Tangara, minister for Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad, appreciated and thanked the Government and brotherly People of Senegal for the usual and legendary hospitality accorded to them since arrival in the beautiful city of Dakar.
He lauded the befitting logistic arrangements put in place for the successful conduct of the First Edition of the Tripartite Meeting of Foreign Ministers of Guinea Bissau, Senegal and The Gambia on cooperation and integration in the sub-region.
“As we come to the end of this First Tripartite Meeting, I further seize the opportunity to convey my gratitude and appreciation to my dear sister Excellency Madam Yassine Fall and my dear brother Excellency Mr Carlos Pinto PEREIRA for the collective will and efforts that led to this great initiative in furtherance of the realization of the vision of our leaders and the wishes and aspirations of the people of our sub-region,” he stated.
The meeting, he went on, was a response to the desire and vision of the three presidents to accelerate and scale up cooperation and integration in the sub-region and had provided the opportunity to reflect, discuss and make recommendations on what “we collectively urgently need to do to address the pressing demands and challenges of our people in a bid to transform and better their lives”.
He said further: “Therefore, as we commit ourselves to implementing the outcomes that emerged from this Tripartite Ministerial Meeting, I also seize this opportunity to thank the experts and delegates from the 3 countries for the tremendous efforts and the quality of their work. Your Excellencies, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, The Gambia, Senegal and Guinea Bissau shared a lot in common. Even after the balkanization of Africa and the erecting of colonial borders, our populations always continue to feel that they are the same people speaking the same languages, same culture, religion, practise intermarriages and with the same aspirations and destiny.”
That, he added, is further evidenced by the fact that, there is hardly any citizen of Guinea Bissau, Senegal and The Gambia who does not have a relative and/or close friend across the borders.
“It is mainly the same people living and crisscrossing the three countries in search of better lives,” he said. “However, even travelling within the sub-region is sometimes a nightmare and more importantly the trade figures between us leave a lot to be desired.”
With abundance of fertile and arable land, Minister Tangara reminded that other natural resources, a youthful population, similarities in almost everything and the size of the population, greater cooperation and integration between the countries can only bring about desired stability, peace and prosperity for the sub-region.
He advised: “If, our sub-region cannot integrate to serve as a model for greater integration and cooperation within ECOWAS, it would be difficult for one to hope for the integration and building of the Africa we want. Within this context, we must always remember and pay tribute to our founding fathers who fought for our freedom, with the vision and desire of bringing development, cooperation and integration of the population of our respective countries in the ECOWAS Sub-Region and Africa as a whole. It is the same vision and mission that our 3 leaders want to realize in the best interest of our people.”
Hence, our collective commitment and show of unity and solidarity will serve as an inspiration for our people and rekindle their hopes of working towards addressing our common challenges.
He expressed optimism that the outcomes of the Tripartite would contribute to accelerating socioeconomic, cultural and political integration in the sub-region, and also facilitate achievements of greater peace, security, poverty alleviation and general development.
“Today, we all know that, our sub-region is not without challenges that require our collective concerted efforts to address in our endeavours to chart a future that would adequately respond to the needs and aspirations of our people especially women and young people of the sub-region,” he said, adding: “Our sub-region continues to face challenges relating to transnational crimes, youth unemployment, irregular migration, climate change, need for industrialization, lack of market access, etc.”
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