The 5th Edition of the biennial International Trade fair organised by the Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) was Saturday officially opened by the vice president and minister of Women’s Affairs, Aja Dr Isatou Njie-Saidy on behalf of the Gambian leader, at a colourful ceremony at the Independence Stadium in Bakau.

This years’ event, with the theme: ‘Promoting Made in the Gambia Products and Services’ is expected to run from the 8th-18th December 2011.

Participants are drawn from as far as Asia notably the Republic of China on Taiwan (ROC), Malaysia, Spain (Europe) and in Africa -Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Niger and Senegal.

Declaring the trade fair officially open, VP Njie-Saidy on behalf of the Gambian leader, commended GCCI for its foresight, and the innovativeness it has demonstrated in organising the trade fair.

She said: “Indeed this initiative by the GCCI clearly indicates that it is duly playing its role as a facilitator of greater collaboration between the public and the private sector and as partner to government in our country’s socio-economic development efforts.

The theme of this edition is apt in the sense that it is aimed at raising public awareness of Gambian products, goods and services, the need for Gambians to consume Gambian products and services as a matter of choice.

Indeed by patronising Gambian products and services each and everyone will be directly and indirectly contributing to wealth creation and poverty reduction in the country.”

The vice president observed that The Gambia, like all other developing countries faces certain challenges influenced both by global and internal factors, stressing that challenges such as access to finance, value-addition for increased exports earnings, integration into the global economy and supply-side constraints are but a few that need urgent attention.

Addressing these challenges through public-private sector partnership, according to VP Njie-Saidy, constitutes the best development approach and remains a priority of the Gambia government.

“In this respect private sector-led growth policies that create an enabling environment for increased production and exports have characterised the national development landscape. Events such as this trade fair will certainly go a long way in shaping the investment and business climate, which will progressively enable us transform such challenges into opportunities.

This international trade fair has immense potential for exposing opportunities for the business community and private sector,” she stated, adding that the trade fair should not be seen as an event to display products and services, but also and perhaps more importantly, as an opportunity to learn and to innovate and improve on products and services in all aspects.

VP Njie-Saidy opined that the act of coming together helps to build stronger and healthier business entities that are better poised to take advantages of the market access opportunities and adapt to evolving markets demands.

She disclosed that studies have identified a significant number of agricultural goods for which one or more African countries have comparative advantage, and that some of these goods are imported by other African countries.

“This therefore, translates into opportunities for intra-regional trade to benefit some agriculture producers and assist in partially eradicating food security problems. It is clear that from this illustration that the liberalisation of our economies through regional integration offers major welfare gains,” she added.

The vice president extended warm greetings on behalf of the Gambian leader to all the participants especially those from the Republic of China on Taiwan and Ghana.

“I would like to invite our distinguished foreign participants to feel at home and use their stay in The Gambia to explore the incomparable investment opportunities an incentives that this peaceful country ‘The Smiling Coast’ has to offer,” she said.

She also pointed out that there is a lot to be gained from the trade fair, as it will provide a special opportunity for small and medium size enterprises not only to expose their products and services, but also to interact with larger and international partners as well.

Speaking earlier, the minister of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment, Abdou Kolley, thanked all the participating countries and expressed optimism that the trade fair will further go a long way in cementing economies and strengthening trade ties between countries, in the region’s quest to reinforce regional integration among states.

“So I want to thank all participating countries. ‘Made in The Gambia’ as the Gambian leader always call for people to grow what they eat and eat what they produce, is a simple sentence but means a lot both for business and individuals.

For business, when you buy from a competitor who has inputs that you need for your production, you are not only helping that competitor grow but also helping yourself to grow.

Because by so doing, your competitor grows, your business grows, and the Gambia economy benefits, which in turn benefits everybody in the process,” he said, and urged people and businessmen not to see each other as a mere competitors, but partners in development.

Minister Kolley also challenged the people to buy from each other in a bid to create more employment, stressing that government alone cannot create jobs. “How we create jobs is by ensuring that we patronise each other so that production can expand.

But if we cannot buy goods that are not produced in The Gambia, our companies cannot grow and expand and in the process they cannot employ Gambians,” he added.

Aki Allen, the 1st vice president of the GCCI, on behalf of the president of GCCI, welcomed the participants and visitors to the trade fair.

He also on behalf of the Board of Directors, management and staff of GCCI, congratulated President Jammeh on his recent landslide election victory.  “May Almighty God guide and protect him as he leads this country through the next five years,” he said.

Commenting on the theme for this year’s event, Allen said that the theme is not only pertinent but also relevant at a time Gambian entrepreneurs are taking ownership of businesses in diverse sectors.  

“We welcome the enthusiasm of our SMES especially those participating in this year’s trade fair. The Chamber urges you all to be diligent in your endeavour to help transform the Gambia economy,” he said.

He made reference to India, describing that country as one of the fastest growing economies in the developing world, where macro, small and medium enterprises are driving innovation and competition at a much faster rate than conglomerate investment countries.

He emphasised that The Gambia can emulate the pattern of this Asian tiger, while noting that in terms of manufacturing, the country is still a long way in meeting its goals and objectives.

He said: “The challenges faced by operators in the sector, especially in the areas of energy, transferred technology, transportation and infrastructural development, can be overwhelming.

We continue to look for government support to ameliorate this problem faced by this very important sector of our economies. In the service sector, The Gambia can boost of a significant number of serious indigenous players most of whom are exhibiting their services at the trade fair.”

While acknowledging that the country has excelled in the trade fair, Allen stressed the need for Gambians to continue patronising Gambian enterprises in the sector for more effective growth in our economy. He then called on small businesses to form partnerships and in that way maximise on their overall performance.

He also revealed that there are about more 249 stalls constructed this year, a significant improvement compared to the 2009 Trade Fair.  Almamy Taal, the chief executive officer of GCCI who chaired the ceremony, expressed similar sentiments. The occasion also witnessed the official launching of the GCCI website by the vice president.

Also present at the opening ceremony were Cabinet ministers, the secretary general and head of Civil Service, the speaker of the National Assembly, senior government officials, private sector representative and a cross-section of the community.