By Lamin Kujabi
The President of ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar A. Touray and his delegation on Friday, 30th December 2022, paid a courtesy call on His Excellency President Adama Barrow at State House in Banjul.
Speaking to journalists after his discussion with the President, Mr. Touray revealed that he was at State House to convey his gratitude to the government and the people of The Gambia for the honour of selecting him as the President of the ECOWAS Commission.
“I believe that there are many Gambians who could have been selected to this position, but it has been assigned to me as a mark of confidence, which I appreciate,’’ he remarked.
He promised to recommit and re-engage himself to work for the region and for The Gambia and to do it all in the best interest of the region.
“We also had the opportunity to listen to the President and get guidance from him regarding the number of challenges that the region is facing,’’ he said.
Mr. Touray further noted that when they got into office, they looked at various instruments put in place; especially 2050 vision and the community’s strategy. “Among them, we point out key strategies for our Commission and for our mandate. We identified four strategic plans for the four-year period,’’ he explained.
Dr Touray mentioned that they have identified peace and security, deepening integration, good governance and inclusive sustainable development as their key strategic objectives. He noted that among the four strategies, they identified two key enablers - capable institution and equitable partnership.
He took the opportunity to express rejection and objection of any attempt to remove a democratically elected government. “It will not be accepted in ECOWAS today, neither tomorrow. This is part of our good governance objectives, [alongside] equitable and sustainable development”.
The ECOWAS Commission president called on the ECOWAS citizens to believe in themselves and build the community and ECOWAS.
Dr. Touray and his delegation comprised of Abdou Kolley, Chief of Staff, ECOWAS; Mrs. Binta Singhateh, Director of ECOWAS and ECOWAS Permanent Representative in The Gambia
They were accompanied by Honourable Baboucarr Joof, Minister of Trade; Dr Momodou Tangara, Minister of Foreign Affairs; and Lang Yarbo, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
