The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad in collaboration with the International Organisation for Migration will on Thursday 21 October launch the maiden diaspora website and data portal at a ceremony at Kairaba Jawara International Conference Centre in Bijilo at 9am prompt.
In September 2017, the President Adama Barrow delivered a Diaspora Policy Statement, which highlighted key commitments including the expansion, enhancement and optimisation of the role of the Gambian diaspora in national development as valued partners.
Pursuant to this statement, the role of the Gambian diaspora was prominently prescribed in the National Development Plan (2018-21) as a critical enabler. Consequently, The Gambia Diaspora Directorate was established at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad to serve as a catalyst and a service delivery department in harnessing the potentials of Gambians in the diaspora.
Thus, the Diaspora Directorate is mandated to facilitate a structured and optimal interface between government and Gambians in the diaspora in facilitating diaspora investment, creating a diaspora development fund, promoting both circular and labor migration and mainstreaming diaspora expertise in the socio-economic development of The Gambia.
One of the tools designed to achieve the foregoing is the diaspora website and data portal supported by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
