The Gambia is hosting a five-day regional seminar on international remittances for economic development by the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM).

Currently underway at the Paradise Suites Hotel in Kololi, the session runs from Monday 09th to Friday 13th March 2009. WAIFEM was formed in 1996 by the Central Banks of The Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia and Sierra Leone. This seminar will, among other things, focus on migration in West Africa: patterns, issues and challenges; the economies of remittances: theories and issues; and international initiatives in migration, impact of remittances on economic development, formal and informal remittance systems.

The seminar was declared opened by the First Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, Basiru Njai, stepping in for the Governor General Bamba Saho. Also in attendance were the second deputy governor, Oumie Savage-Samba, various other directors at the Central Bank, heads of financial institutions, the press and a cross section of the public.