A joint communiqué was, yesterday, signed between the KMC and the Rufisqué Municipal Council in Senegal, at a ceremony held at the KMC Chambers.

Mayor Yankuba Colley signed the communiqué on behalf of his municipality, while Hon Ndiawar Touré, the mayor of Rufisqué, who is the deputy speaker of the Senegalese Parliament, signed on behalf of Rufisqué.

The new communiqué entails agreements in the areas of trade, education and culture, youth and sports, planning and development, health and environmental sanitation, agriculture and natural resources, among others.

In the area of trade, both municipalities agreed to organised trade fairs every six months, alternatively in Rufisqué and Kanifing Municipality, as this will further reduce the cost in procuring vegetables.

According to the communiqué, this will enable the two committees to work on modalities of facilitating buying and transportation of vegetables from both municipalities, by creating linkages as well as study tours between the two parties.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mayor Colley welcomed the signing of the joint communiqué as a good move, as it will go a long way towards strengthening the bond between the two peoples.

"It will be effectively implemented for the benefits of the two municipalities. Apart from this communiqué, Rufisqué has been very helpful to KMC in many areas, namely technical assistance and exchange of expertise, as well as through exchange visits.

I want to make the KMC not only the first municipality, but the best among the rest. We will soon send some council staff to learn French in Senegal," he said.

For his part, Mayor Ndiawar Touré commended the KMC for its efforts and renewed his council's commitment to the tenets of the collaboration.

According to him, the areas highlighted in the joint communique constitute crucial components that will further promote peace and unity between the two sister republics.

Meanwhile, during the course of the visit, Mayor Touré and his delegation paid a courtesy call on the vice-president, Dr Aja Isatou Njie-Saidy, among other senior government officials.

At a Joint-Commission meeting held on July 1, the outgoing Chairman Touré, handed over the chairmanship of the Joint-Commission to Mayor Colley.