By Omar Bah
The Gambia has announced its accession as a new member of the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI).
The Gambia announced its endorsement of the Proliferation Security Initiative in a letter addressed to Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, Nasser Bourita, by his Gambian counterpart.
In this respect, the Kingdom of Morocco and the United States of America welcome this decision, which marks a significant step forward in strengthening regional and international cooperation and coordination in the fight against the proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD).
The Gambia’s endorsement of the PSI follows its active participation in the African Political Conference of the Proliferation Security Initiative, held from January 31 to February 02, 2024 in Marrakech, which culminated in a joint declaration and the announcement of the accession of six other African countries: Benin, Zambia, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Togo and Madagascar.
These countries have expressed their commitment to strengthening South-South cooperation in terms of regional security and to developing efforts to promote the non-proliferation of WMD.
Launched in 2003, the PSI is an international initiative aiming to prevent proliferation of WMDs through reinforcing cooperation between participating States.
Based on the principles of voluntary partnership and information sharing, the PSI promotes regional and global security by deterring non-state actors from engaging in proliferation activities.
With this new PSI membership, The Gambia increases the number of African member countries of this initiative from 6 to 13, and the total number of member states from 106 to 113, thus consolidating efforts in the fight against WMD proliferation.
