In an effort to support the National Development Plan (NDP) of the country, preparations are underway to organise an International Investment Economic Forum on the NDP, which will take place in Spain later this year.
This information was revealed to journalists by the organisers of the forum at State House on Friday.
Alhagie Nyangado, director general, Strategic Policy and Delivery Department told journalists that the forum is to take place in Spain and is all part of efforts by the government to improve resource mobilisation for the NDP.
Mr. Nyangado recalled that some time ago, the government launched an international initiative in which a donor conference was held in Brussels, where donors pledged more than one billion dollars. “And when you look at those pledges at that time, it was divided into two; which are grant and loan.”
“So the only avenue we have is to improve our activities on grants, and this particular forum is going to help us again to discuss with our counterparts in Spain particularly the Diaspora,” he said, adding that these are groups of Gambians who live in Spain. “They have established a good relation with this office and they discussed the possibility to earn resources for the government.”
According to Mr Nyangado, this is not a retreat for government cabinet ministers to go to Spain. “We have established a committee composed of institutions, and in that discussion, we have even established a small team that would also go to Spain by end of this week to go and establish the preparedness for the coming forum.”
“So I want to tell the whole Gambia that these are Gambians who live in Spain; working with the government of Spain and they felt the need to support The Gambia by mobilising resources.”
This particular conference, he noted, would involve both government and private sectors from both countries. He added that it is an activity to raise additional resources for the government.
Ali Sowe, forum general manager, said they initiated that international investment economic forum in collaboration with government.
“As a private sector, we have to participate in national development, so this is why we ought to collaborate with government as well as our partners in Spain.”
“The Spanish government was very well concerned in helping The Gambia especially on the National Development Plan (NDP).”
