The minister of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment, Hon. Baboucarr Ousmaila Joof, on Wednesday, May 8th embarked on a four-day working visit to Dakar, Senegal. He was accompanied by Mr. Yankuba Darboe, the Commissioner General of The Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA); Mr. Lamin Dampha, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Trade, and other staff of the Ministry and GRA.
Dr. Serigne Gueye Diop, Minister of Industry and Commerce of Senegal received Mr Joof at his office at Diamniadio. The visit accorded the Minister the opportunity to discuss with his Senegalese counterpart the constraints hindering trade between the two countries, as relates to the movement of goods, customs procedures, the development of value chains, the promotion of investments and industrial development among others.He asserted that Senegal and The Gambia are two countries linked by history and geography, with deep ties that unite the two peoples. He said the two countries maintain very extensive commercial relations revealing that exports from Dakar to Banjul are estimated at 110.7 billion FCFA in 2022 (NACE 2022) and The Gambia is one of Senegal’s main trading partners in the ECOWAS zone, after Mali (708.8 billion FCFA), Ivory Coast (114.4 billion FCFA) and the Republic of Guinea (113.8 billion FCFA).However, Mr Diop observed that despite the close link, trade between the two countries remains very weak and not very diversified.This situation, the Senegalese Commerce Minister, said is largely explained by non-tariff barriers, including complex administrative procedures and non-compliance with Community provisions on the free movement of goods and people. Therefore, he noted, there are so many issues that they will have to adopt together, in a coordinated manner, to facilitate trade between The Gambia and Senegal.
Hon. Joof thanked his counterpart for the warm welcome accorded him and his team since they arrived in Senegal while expressing delight for the meeting.
He affirmed that the close connection between the two countries is one that the two presidents, and even those before them, have recognised; and that is what they have asked them to revive. The fact that there are barriers, he appealed to both sides to be realistic about those barriers and to accept that they exist. He informed the meeting that trade is not flowing as they expect between Senegal and The Gambia and that is a problem, hence, the solution is in their hands and that if they recognise that, then they are determined to make a difference.“We want to see that there is movement of goods and services across the borders and to facilitate that we need to be strong enough to take the necessary decisions to strengthen our economic evolution as Senegal and The Gambia are interdependent,” the Minister remarked.The Senegalese Minister of Commerce and Industry under the leadership of His Excellency Mr. Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye said he will ensure the smooth operation of trade between The Gambia and Senegal, while acknowledging the challenges and effort of raising the level of the two countries’ economic and commercial exchanges in recent years.Dr. Serigne Gueye Diop made this remark on Friday, May 10th during a meeting with his Gambian counterpart Minster Joof and delegation in Diamniadio, Senegal. Hon. Baboucarr Ousmaila Joof was on a trade facilitation visit to Dakar.Dr. Diop, recalled that in the quest to strengthen economic cooperation and regional development between Senegal and The Gambia, three sessions of the Senegalese-Gambian Bilateral Presidential Council were held respectively in March 2018, in Banjul, in 2020 in Dakar, and in August 2023, in Banjul.Alongside this strategic cooperation orientation mechanism, he added that other consultations or decision-making frameworks have been put in place with a view to jointly exploring opportunities for economic partnership, and the promotion of bilateral trade in particular. These, he said, were the large joint cooperation commission, bringing together all the ministerial departments and sectors and the Joint Committee for Cooperation in Commercial Matters.Unfortunately, he recalled, the latter did not function fully due in particular to the pandemic and scheduling constraints. “I would like to invite us to take more action by setting up a work schedule for the Committee as soon as possible and organise Council meetings at the indicated periods. This will allow us address the legitimate concerns of our respective economic operators but also to implement the political guidelines of our highest authorities,” he stated, noting that he is convinced that together they can resolve these questions definitively.
Current Cement Issue
The Senegalese Commerce Minister said that they have heard about the cement issue and others, and promised that they will discuss them and come up with a solution. He however adjudged that if they want to develop the country, they should allow Gambian cement to enter Senegal and Senegalese cement to enter Gambia. This, he said, is a political decision and so they will facilitate it and make it easy.
Speaking further on the barriers, Dr Diop contended that goods that come from Gambia should enter Senegal and vice versa. “We both need the market; Senegal needs Gambian market and Gambia needs Senegal’s market; we have to do what it takes,” he asserted, while affirming their desire to integrate the economies of The Gambia and Senegal.
Dr Diop assured the Gambian delegates that they are very pleased with the relationship between the two presidents, reiterating that their vision is to make sure that the two countries have common economic, social as well as trade programmes.
