The president of the Republic Monday returned from Angola after a working visit to that country. The output of the president’s visit was the signature of a cooperation agreement. The development is significant in that it shows that African states are now looking towards each other for the accomplishment of their development aspirations.

As the president himself stated, Angola is a player in Africa’s development, it is one of the few African countries investing in other African countries including The Gambia. Ensuring effective cooperation with such a country has the potential to further enhance our socio-economic development. It further shows that the two countries are matching words with action regarding the long established aspiration that Africa needs to look inwards for cooperation in a bid to arrest poverty and under-development in the continent.

African states have to critically look inwards to bring down all barriers that in one way or another hinder intra-Africa cooperation, before development can be achieved for the continent. We need not herein reiterate that the activities of exploitative foreign companies have rendered Africa poor and underdeveloped. In the greedy hunt for our resources, these companies exploit our labour, our land and our mind.

We remain optimistic that African leaders would bring their countries to cooperate more, so that we can look inwards to each other as Africans with common problems and solutions. With such initiatives, the African continent has the ability to lead the African people into the mainstream of global socio-economic development within the broad objectives of the African Renaissance.

What is however needed to achieve these objectives is the political will to adhere to integration objectives, and to give them priority over domestic considerations. A resolute effort must be made to achieve greater institutional and policy convergence. The likes of President Jammeh have of course started the journey, others should follow.