Four delegates from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), yesterday paid a courtesy call on members of the National Assembly at the office of the speaker, Fatoumata Jahumpa-Ceesay and also on Ismaila Sambou, SoS for Local Government, Lands and Religious Affairs at his office in Banjul.

The delegates are Nura Jobe, head of Finance at the ECOWAS Bureau in Banjul, Kinza Jawara-Njie, head of Division Cross Border Cooperation Programme at ECOWAS, Homamadou Abdoul, coordinator Pilot Operation in Southern Senegambia and  N’Faly Sanoh, director, Free Movement of Persons at the ECOWAS Office.

The visit was meant to brief the two institutions on the ECOWAS Cross Border Initiatives Programme (CIP) Pilot Operation in Southern Senegambia. The Cross Border Cooperation falls within purview of the ECOWAS Free Movement of Persons Department, which is mandated to implement a regional cross border cooperation strategy in support of free movement of persons, good neighbourly relations, peace and development through the Cross Border Initiatives Programme.

It is also tasked to set up and implement a regional fund for cross border cooperation in order to provide financial resources needed for rapid development of cross border cooperation projects within all of the border and cross border community areas. N’Faly Sanoh, speaking to waiting reporters shortly after a closed door audience with the speaker and members of the National Assembly, described the meeting as reassuring and a sign of commitment from The Gambia on issues affecting operations of cross border cooperation within the ECOWAS member states.

At the Department of Local Government Lands and Religious Affairs, Mrs Kinza Jawara-Njie briefed SoS Sambou on the ECOWAS programmes. “We want to operate at the grassroots, national and regional levels.  We have seen the regional level.

The pilot operation in Southern Senegambia is one of the Cluster Projects. The project comprises of The Gambia, Senegal and Guinea. We made a visit to Senegal and this is the Gambian leg. From here, we will visit Guinea Bissau but because of elections in that country,  we delayed a bit,” she explained. She seized the opportunity to officially invite the SoS and his Department to the Southern Senegambia Cross Border meeting scheduled to take place today at the Regional Education office in Brikama. The meeting, she said, will bring together participants from Senegal, Casamance, The Gambia and Guinea Bissau.

Ismalia Sambou, for his part, assured them of the government and his department’s support towards the achievement of the goals of the ECOWAS programme.