By Kebba Ansu Manneh
The Gambia National Think Tank (GAMNATT) and its Finnish partner have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the OIC-Gambia Secretariat recently ahead of the much talked about OIC Conference slated for 2022.
Speaking to the press shortly after the signing of the MoU, Kemo Conteh, Interim Coordinator of Gambia National Think Tank described the event as a significant milestone for GAMNATT and the OIC Secretariat, noting that the partnership will add values to the overall preparations of the OIC conference especially on the policies.
According to him, the purpose of this partnership agreement is to define the basis for an establishment of a collaborative partnership between parties in collaborating to enhance the socio-economic empowerment of youths and women in The Gambia including the Madarasa system Infrastructure project.
Adding to that, he said the parties have agreed in principle to collaborate and form partnership in defining the program and project portfolio to enhance socioeconomic development of the country.
The National Coordinator for GAMNATT continued that the partners hope to establish a long-term, prolific and impactful partnership to support OIC infrastructure program, which among the objectives is the empowerment of Islamic students in to enter labour market.
He added that the partnership will endeavour to upgrade Islamic primary and secondary schools to meet national standards of education, and will also enhance training facilities for the National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC) among others.
Mr Conteh said GAMNATT as a Policy Think Tank is mainly concerned with policy component of development projects, while also disclosed that GAMNATT focuses idea based on policies, education, human resources development and capacity building that lies at the center of government’s National Development Plan (NDP).
Finland, he disclosed further, has been rated by UNESCO as one of the countries with best education system in the world, noting that it is the hope of GAMNATT that through this partnership, The Gambia will benefit from a lively exchange of ideas and transfer of technology from Finland in the areas of institutional building, human resources development and capacity building in the education sector.