The Government of the Canary Islands and the Government of the Republic of Gambia will start working together on areas such as education, employment, security, sustainability, and healthcare.
To achieve this, both governments have agreed to create a working team that places the African country as a priority in the Canary Islands-Africa Strategy recently presented by the President of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo.
This was one of the agreements reached on Monday in the meetings between the Canary Islands delegation, led by the Minister of Health, Esther Monzón, and the Deputy Ministers of the President’s Office, Octavio Caraballo, and of Social Welfare, Francis Candil, with the Vice President of the Republic of Gambia, H.E. Muhammed B.S Jallow, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation, and Gambians Abroad, Hon. Mamadou Tangara, with the diplomatic antenna of the Embassy of Spain in Banjul, Violeta Sandoval, also participating.
Both executives will now work together in various areas to strengthen relations with the African country and «establish ties beyond the commercial ones that historically have united the Canary Islands with the countries of West Africa,» highlighted Octavio Caraballo, Deputy Minister of the President’s Office, in a statement.
In this context, the Government of the Canary Islands plans to launch the ‘Tierra firme’ project, already underway in Senegal and Mauritania, to offer young Gambians opportunities in their country and prevent them from risking their lives on the ‘Canarian Route’.
Gambia will thus become the third African country, alongside Senegal and Mauritania, where the regional government will deploy this cooperation project for employability, aiming to offer a life project to young people and women in their countries of origin and discourage the dangerous Atlantic migratory route.
The goal of the Government of the Canary Islands is to implement ‘Tierra firme’ in a country where 70% of the population is under 25 years old.
The program will be carried out in collaboration with a training center in Gambia next September with a pilot project to train young people in electricity, plumbing, and civil construction, which could be expanded to other sectors related to sustainability and the tourism industry in the future.
Cooperation between the Canary Islands and Gambia started in 2006 with a budget of over one million euros.
Since then, the regional government has funded a total of 19 projects, eleven of them in the last two years.
Among these projects are actions to improve and build well networks in the towns of Sambuyang and Sanyang, linked to the development of community gardens promoted by The Monkey Girl Association NGO for Aid in Gambia, a project for empowering women farmers in Gambia through local ecological trade, supported by the Federation of Urban Areas of the Canary Islands, or an emergency plan to monitor malnutrition in the African country led by the NGO Nutrition Without Borders, among others.
Another topic discussed during the meetings was the assessment of the INTERREG MAC 2021-2027 programs, in which Gambia joined for the first time last year.
Specifically, six projects focused on areas such as education and mobility, recovery, conservation, and enhancement of natural heritage, and the protection of biodiversity and climate change are being worked on.
The agenda for Monday also included a meeting of the delegation with the Ambassador of the European Union in Gambia, Inma Roca.
EMERGENCY RADIOCOMMUNICATION SYSTEM
Furthermore, on the same Monday, the first phase of what will be the first emergency radiocommunication system for the country was inaugurated.
Material provided by the Emergency Coordination Center, CECOES 112 of the Government of the Canary Islands, was used for this initiative led by the StartUp Corazón Solidario NGO, led by Sonja Arup, and with the contribution of public and private institutions in Gambia.
The delegation of the Government of the Canary Islands will continue its agenda on Tuesday with meetings with the Minister of Interior, Hon. Abdoulie Sanyamg; the Minister of Tourism and Culture, Abdoulie Jobe, and the Director General of Tourism, Abubacarr Camara.
They will also visit projects promoted by Canary Islands social entities in Gambia.
The representatives of the regional government will visit the GTTI Gambia Technical Training Institute, as well as the Kanifing General Hospital, Faji Kunda, and the New-Yundum Maternity Ward, and the hospitals of Farato New and Brikama.
