Madani M Tall, the Country Director of World Bank (WB), has briefed President Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh on the World Bank's board meeting in December, in Washington, United States, to consider the completion point of The Gambia under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative for possible debt relief.

Mr Tall disclosed this in an interview with journalists at State House, Banjul, following his audience with the President. The World Bank Country Director said he also informed the President about a two-week donor round table meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, geared towards discussing poverty reduction strategy and mobilising international support for the strategy.

He described The Gambia's micro-economic programme as sound, saying that the country has produced a "very good poverty reduction strategy. All these contribute to attracting not only the donor finance for The Gambia but also international funding from the private sector".

Mr Tall said it will take a combination of not only aid but foreign investment and debt management to unshackle the country from the chain of poverty.

"The President was very clear about the objectives he set for this country - ambitious objectives ... to make sure that the World Bank generally and the international community understand these objectives," he said.

In a separate engagement, Tsidi Tsikata, Chief of Mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to The Gambia, who also paid a courtesy call on President Jammeh, briefed the President on two IMF programmes, including the debt relief initiative for The Gambia. Mr Tsikata was accompanied to State House by Musa Gibril Balla Gaye, Secretary of State for Finance and Economic Affairs.