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EU offers grant to new Gambian government

Xinhua, February 10, 2017 Adjust font size:

The European Union on Thursday signed a grant agreement of 75 million euros with The Gambia's new government.

The signing ceremony, held in Banjul, was presided by President Adama Barrow and the EU Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development Neven Mimica, who led a high-level delegation to the West African country.

"In addition to the 75 million euros package of immediate support signed today, we are already preparing a medium-term package of 150 million euros which will focus on building capacities of state and on job creation," said Mimica.

The 75-mln-euro package comprises a road rehabilitation program of 10.5 million euros to improve access to vulnerable populations, 20.5 million euros for boosting growth and employment, 11.5 million euros for improving food security, 11 million euros for creating jobs for youth, and 21.5 million for addressing climate change, human rights and supporting civil society.

For the new president, the funds came at a time when his government required "immediate rescue in order to meet the commitment of the birth of the new Gambia."

"As a new government, what we have inherited is an economy that is virtually bankrupt and in need of immediate rescue. This sad reality was brought about through a mismanagement of our finances," Barrow said.

The Gambia emerged from a political crisis that lasted about two months after Yahya Jammeh refused to step down as president after losing the elections. He was later forced into exile by an ECOWAS military intervention force.

The relations between The Gambia and the EU had in the recent past years been rocky, since 2013 when Jammeh gave a persona non grata to the head of the EU mission in the country, after the EU, the largest foreign donor to the country, blocked funds for the second time over allegations of human rights violations by Jammeh's government.

However, officials from both the EU and the new Gambian government pledged a new page based on "genuine dialogue on the values of freedom, democracy, human rights and inclusive development". Enditem