The active involvement of the private sector has often been viewed as a crucial determinant for the success of any economy.

As the sector that can easily mobilise foreign direct investment and ensure perfect competition in a free market economy, leading to the production of quality goods and services and high growth, the private sector is always high on the development agenda of many countries.

The sector is able to perform this role when provided the enabling environment by government.The stakeholders' forum organised by The Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry in association with The Gambia Investment and export promotion Agency with a view to enablingthe private and public sectors to interact and assess the challenges and opportunities of their partnership and explore tangible ways forward for development.

The forum has no doubt come at a much better time, when the country has gone midway into achieving Vision 2020 and all other benchmarks of development particularly the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The government is of course trying on its part to boost the country's investment climate. But then, government cannot do it all alone, as the entire process of development requires an all-inclusive participatory mechanism. Vibrant sectors of society like the private sector should therefore be in the forefront to complement the efforts of the government.

After all, the importance of the private sector cannot be over-emphasised, as it is an important substitute for state enterprises and contributes greatly to solving the problems of unemployment, as well as create a gooddeal of tax income for the government.

Such forums would therefore not only bring cardinal relations between the two sectors but can expedite the development process. It has the potential to encourage partnerships among themselves and the emergence of public-private corporations which can enable companies possess a huge bargaining power to mobilise resources and the required capital for our development.