Meetings started in the Middle East and a ceasefire led to the release of hostages and there was hope that there would be a ceasefire between the state of Israel and Hamas and peace talks will follow for a two-state solution to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Now the bombing has started again in both Lebanon, Syria and Gaza. The US is also engaged with the Houthis in Yemen. The Middle East is yet to see light at the end of the tunnel.
In the same vein, talks started in Saudi Arabia between Ukraine and Russia after preliminary talks started with each of them with the US as the mediator. There was hope for a ceasefire, instead the war has intensified. There is no sign of a ceasefire.
As if the uncertainty was not enough the whole world trade system was put to disorder and the World Trade Organisation made almost irrelevant by the initiation of a trade war between the US and even its traditional partners like the UK, the EU, Canada, Japan, Mexico and its rivals like China, Brazil and so on.
Even the emerging economies were not spared and schemes like AGOA which aim to facilitate trade between them and the US are facing challenges. Every country in the world is now being compelled to go back to the drawing board and acknowledge that it is no longer business as usual.
Where will the world go from here? That is the burning question. The Gambia has thrived on remittances since the first republic. It is now dependent on remittances more than export earnings. We have quoted the Central Bank figures of 775.6 million dollars as remittances for 2024.
The threat is now real of the closing of doors of migration. Spain had to ease its conscience after the murder and torture of many migrants who had aimed to cross the Moroccan-Spanish border. It has adopted the doctrine of legal migration through labour recruitment on contractual basis. It is not clear how many people will be able to take this route and how much it would yield.
Undoubtedly the emerging economies should begin to rethink and recast the trajectories of their destinies. The route they thought would lead us to integration into a world economy. Their thinkers need to pave the only path that could move them forward, otherwise they will perish in the wilderness of poverty.
