2024-05-04 23:59:44
Banjul, May 4 (APS) – Gambians interviewed by the APS reporter expressed their pride in seeing their country host the 15th Summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
”We waited a long time before hosting this summit. This is the first one,” says Sidy Sakho, a technician at Gamtel, a local telecommunications company.
”We always wanted to organize such an event. Since the announcement of the news about the organization of this summit, all Gambians have mobilized,” he said.
He believes that holding this summit is a matter of pride and an achievement for a small country like The Gambia.
”This proves that we can do as much as the big countries. We hope our guests feel very comfortable with us. The nickname ”Africa’s smiling coast” is not for nothing. We want to transmit this joy of living to our guests,” he says, not without pride.
Aware that “some participants are discovering The Gambia for the first time, we want them to take advantage of our hospitality,” says the Gambian telecommunications technician.
Certain economic benefits
Even better, he hopes that his country will benefit from the economic dividends that this type of meeting provides, as well as its good position on the international stage.
The same enthusiasm and expectations are shared by his compatriot Modou Touré, a journalist at Block TV.
”The Gambia is certainly a developing country, but it has nothing to be ashamed of when it comes to organizing a meeting of the international dimension,” he said.
Through the projects undertaken as part of the organization of this OIC summit, Touré says that “his country will be more on the path towards economic development, thanks to tourism in particular”.
Another economic sector that benefits from this summit is the restaurant industry. Bintou Diaïté lives in Bundung, an area of Banjul, the capital of Gambia, of this opinion.
With a smile on her lips, this young 23-year-old restaurateur clasps her hands, adding that she considers herself privileged for the simple fact of having an international meeting where her country is not in experience in hosting.
For Maï Bodian, in her late thirties, the OIC summit is a great help to her colleagues, and even more so to the hotel sector.
”We work in hotels and we were involved in the summit to manage the attendance of certain guests,” she is happy.
For the Gambians, especially the Banjulians, the OIC summit is therefore a great economic opportunity that should not be missed for anything in the world. The Gambia, which joined the organization in 1974, will assume its presidency for the next three years.
FD/ABB/OID
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