rising food prices, declining incomes and school closures on account of the global health crisis took a toll on the livelihoods of many households in the West African nation. Against such a background, the government of The Gambia launched its new five-year export strategy earlier this week, with the support of The Commonwealth Secretariat.
The National Export Strategy (NES), which will be implemented from 2021 to 2025, is aimed at increasing the country’s exports, diversifying its products, creating new job opportunities, reducing poverty and achieving the countries National Development Plan, as well as the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Accordingly, the scheme will focus on boosting revenue from six priority areas, namely tourism, light manufacturing, fisheries, horticulture and agribusiness, groundnut and cashew.
Speaking during the launching ceremony on Tuesday (24 August), the Minister of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment, Seedy Keita, acknowledged the role played by the Commonwealth Secretariat in providing technical support in order to kick off the strategy.
He further noted that the initiative is expected to improve the diversification of The Gambia’s economy to increase the country’s access to the global market. “This Strategy is expected to improve the country’s trade balance and its ranking in exports. Despite the country’s small-scale production, it is envisaged that the Strategy will provide support to diversify the economy, which will improve The Gambia’s access to the international markets,” he said.
This is the second time the Commonwealth Secretariat has assisted the West African nation in preparing its National Export Strategy, in collaboration with The Gambia Investment and Export Promotion Agency, as well as the private and public sectors. “In 2018, we were thrilled to welcome back The Gambia to the Commonwealth family,” Patricia Scotland, the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, said. “The Commonwealth Secretariat is committed to supporting the country to realise its aspiration of becoming a formidable exporting nation, to increase standards of living for its citizens and build a pathway of sustainable economic growth.”
