Kujejatou K.B. Manneh, Gambian ambassador to Cuba was one of the speakers at the recently concluded 17th International Fair ‘Expocaribe 2022 in the Cuban city of Santiago de Cuba.
The 17th International Fair Expocaribe 2022 is designed to promote unity, solidarity, alliances and business, especially among Caribbean nations. Participants come from Africa, Asia and Europe.
In her address, the Ambassador underscored the relevance of the Expocaribe 2022 International Fair in promoting trade and cooperation with her country and others on the African continent.
She went on to describe the event as a space for learning and negotiating business, and promised to return in June 2023, after learning about the potential and opportunities for foreign trade and foreign investment in the eastern region, the production and export of medicines, the advantages of multi-destination tourism and the resilience and adaptation capacity of Cuba in the face of climate change.
During an exclusive interview with the Cuban News Agency (ACN) at the sidelines of the Expo, Ambassador Manneh said the fact that 60 percent of The Gambian population is “young creatives and innovators”, the event is of great importance, “because they could find a safe market for their products in the Caribbean. It is also to the advantage of Gambia’s geographical location on the Atlantic Ocean”.
She mentioned the possibilities to export goods and services for the benefit of both regions of the world and foreign investment in the eastern zone, especially multi-destination tourism, which requires an efficient maritime transport system.
The Gambian ambassador also expressed interest in the biopharmaceutical sector, considering the vast experience Cuba has in that field, while noting the need for facilitating access to the raw materials necessary for these productions, since Cuba has difficulty accessing the international market due to US’s economic, commercial and financial blockade.
She promised to relay the experience and lessons from the Fair to The Gambian government, and recommended that this is extended to the African Union (AU), in order to strengthen link with the Caribbean and the promotion of South-South cooperation.
The Ambassador also revealed her intention to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Oriente University, for the development of agriculture, and with Havana High Studies House in the area of health.
She also praised the archipelago’s preparation for natural disasters -the subject of another panel at Expocaribe 2022-, in particular the capacity for prevention and recovery after their occurrence, and stressed that her country should learn and exchange with the island about the creation of conditions to face the long periods of drought, one of its main problems.
The Gambia and Cuba established diplomatic relations on May 19th, 1979. Since then health professionals from Cuba have been frequenting the country through a long standing bilateral agreement, offering health services and training of Gambian health personnel.
The largest of the Antilles also receives Gambian support in the international sphere in various multilateral affairs, and in the fight for the end of the economic, commercial and financial blockade of the United States, imposed for six decades.
Source: Cuban Embassy in Gambia
(By Beatriz Vaillant Rodriguez)