State House, Banjul, 14th January, 2019 – His Excellency, President Adama Barrow, received at the State House in Banjul a group of investors from the Arab Republic of Egypt today. The Egyptian investors expressed interest in agricultural processing and manufacturing, rice production, energy and tourism industries.
The visit came in the aftermath of President Barrow’s recent visit to Egypt, where he held talks with President Al-Sisi on renewing bilateral relations based on action-oriented programmes. “Gambia’s pursuit of economic growth includes trade and investment policies that adds value to our produce and ensures exports,” President Barrow told the delegates.
Agriculture and tourism constitute the main pillar of The Gambian economy, and equally are key priority areas of the government’s development blueprint (NDP 2018-2921). Consequently, the president during his remarks assured the investors of his government’s policies and programmes to mechanizing agriculture using modern technologies.
The investors, led by Mr. Ayman El-Gamil, Chairman of the ‘Cairo Three A Group’, described President Barrow as an open minded leader with a good heart for the development of The Gambia.
“The President was receptive to our proposals; he expressed support to our business and investment proposals and gave it his blessing. We are ready to start as soon as a land is allocated and the protocols sorted,” Mr. El-Gamil said.
For the investors, investment in Africa is important in the context of the African (South to South) cooperation. They noted that Egypt has a lot to offer The Gambia and would work for their mutual interest.
Their processing and manufacturing strategy will also include training for the youths with new skills and technology transfer.
The national investment agency of The Gambia, Gambia Investment and Export Promotion Agency (GIEPA), is working with the investors to facilitate their programmes in the country.
