By Lamin Njie
The UK remains committed to broadening and deepening its economic ties with all countries across the African continent, UK high commissioner Sharon Wardle has said.
UK Prime Minister Boris ‘Bojo’ Johnson hosted 21 African leaders to a summit on Monday but The Gambia’s failure in making the list of the countries have sparked speculation of fraying of relations between The Gambia and UK.
The Fatu Network contacted the UK High Commission on Tuesday via email but according to the UK’s high commissioner, the fact that The Gambia was overlooked for the UK-Africa Investment Summit does not mean that the UK is not exploring ways to deepen economies ties with The Gambia.
Sharon Wardle said: “As my colleagues in London have discussed with the Gambian High Commission, the UK remains committed to broadening and deepening its economic ties with all countries across the African continent and our efforts on this are not limited to those countries invited to the Summit, which is only one part of our commitment to work with our African partners.
“While The Gambia wasn’t one of the limited number of countries attending the UK-Africa Investment Summit, this does not mean that the UK is not exploring ways to deepen our economic ties with The Gambia. We are already a significant investor through our support to the key multilateral institutions.
“A few recent examples of how we are, and will continue to, directly do this include our contribution through the NAMA Facility to support private sector participation in renewable energy supply, UK funding to the African Development Bank Green Mini-Grids project to provide solar energy to rural communities, UK-funded InfraCo support to the Gambian Ports Authority and the ongoing range of activities to support women entrepreneurs through the global SheTrades initiative.
“I remain confident that we will continue to see an increase in UK investor interest, and as happened with the signing of the BP exploration licence are keen to work with the Government to support socially-responsible investment into the country.”
Meanwhile, The Fatu Network has gathered the 21 countries invited represent a regional balance across Africa and have the highest potential for new UK investment.
