By Omar Bah
President Adama Barrow has called for international collaboration in the fight against insecurity, adding that the peace that Gambia enjoys is as a result of regional and international cooperation.
He said national and regional strategies are necessary to support and uproot organised crimes especially the key threats to peace and security.
“The Gambia experience underscores the importance of regional and international solidarity and cooperation with sustained preventive diplomacy as important elements in peacebuilding and sustaining peace,” Barrow told the 5th Dakar International Peace and Security Forum yesterday.
The regional troops that are still in the country under the funding of the European Union intervened to force Jammeh to relinquish power in 2017 after losing the December election to Barrow.
President Barrow said elections that used to be a major source of violence in the continent are now accepted as the most credible means of transferring power.
“Unfortunately however, deep-rooted threats to peace such as terrorism, radical extremism, the spread of small arms and dangerous drugs and cross-border crimes, maritime piracy and human trafficking have increased with serious consequences worsen by poverty and youth unemployment,” he noted.
The Gambian leader said priority needs to be put on providing adequate resources, training and operational capabilities for the law enforcement agents to effectively address all security threats.
“It is only through peaceful coexistence, good governance and the creation of multiple avenues and opportunities for employment, we can similarly enhance peace and cohesion in our member countries,” he added.
Besides these, he added, economic policies need to absorb the influx of the youths, open up new sources for them and harness their potentials to contribute to peace and stability.
“At the national level, it is essential to focus growth strategies on the labour intensive sectors and encourage the development of the informal sector through value-added production and international trade,” he noted. The Forum is organised by the Senegalese Government and the Pan-African Institute of Strategy, with the support of the French Ministry of Defense and the Association de soutien au Forum de Dakar.
