President YahyaJammeh talks tough on the EU-Africa Summit

04 Apr 2014 Speaking on the EU- Africa Summit, President YahyaJammeh of the Gambia has made it clear that he will not attend the summit in Brussels.

The president was speaking to reporters at the Banjul International Airport shortly after his arrival from Cote d’Ivoire, where he attended the 44th Ordinary Session of the Conference of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government. He protested an Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union which is aimed at addressing issues relating to unfair preferential trade agreements.

MrJammeh’s view is that the EPA is a stumbling block on trade and is being imposed on African countries by Europeans. He is quoted as saying “Anybody who wants a partnership with us, and you want my raw materials, process them here; then you are a good investor. But where you come and then just take it and go and process it elsewhere, it is not going to happen because we will be creating unemployment here and creating jobs over there, which is unacceptable.