13th meeting of ECOWAS Forum of Ministers in charge of Security (FMS) opens in Niamey, Niger.

Sequel to the 17th General Assembly of the West African Police Chiefs Committee (WAPCCO) and the 8th meeting of the ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs Security Services (CCSS), held on 28 and 29 March 2023 respectively, the meeting of the Forum of Ministers of Security (FMS) was also held on 30 March 2023. These meetings took place in Niamey, the capital of Niger

The meeting of ECOWAS Member States Forum of Ministers of Security (FMS), which is the last in the series of the WAPCCO Annual General Meeting, considered the reports proposed by the two (2) previous meetings.

The objectives of the FMS meeting are to validate the recommendations of the two meetings and give directives and guidance to chiefs security services in the region.

The meeting was attended by representatives of the Ministries of Interior, Defence and Security of ECOWAS Member States, staff of the ECOWAS Commission and representatives of INTERPOL.

A total of three (3) speeches were delivered during the  opening ceremony.

In his welcome address, Mr Hamadou Adamou Souley, Niger’s Minister of the Interior and Decentralisation reiterated the support of his government in the fight against transnational organised crime in West Africa. He also congratulated INTERPOL for its efforts in the fight against crime and commended ECOWAS for taken the initiative to organise the meeting.

In his address, Ambassador Abdel-Fatau Musah (PhD) Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security of the ECOWAS Commission, on behalf of the organisation’s President, Dr. Alieu Omar Touray, noted the great importance that this regional institution attaches to the Annual General Meeting of the WAPCCO and the particular attention it pays Member States’ recommendations. He further indicated that these meetings contribute greatly to the formulation of policies aimed at strengthening ECOWAS’ response mechanisms to the myriad of security challenges in the region.

In his opening speech, His Excellency Mahamadou Ouhoumoudou first conveyed the goodwill message of of His Excellency Mohamed Bazoum, President of the Republic of Niger to all the participants who were gracious enough to  make the trip to Niamey. He also thanked the ECOWAS Commission for designating Niger as the host of the 17th Annual General Assembly (AGA) of the West African Police Chiefs Committee (WAPCCO) and the 8th meeting of the Committee of ECOWAS Chiefs of Security Services (CCSS). He also expressed Niger’s gratitude to the various development partners for their support and encouraged the ECOWAS Commission to pursue and intensify initiatives to increase collaboration between Member States in the area of security.

The 13th meeting of the Forum of Ministers in charge of Security ended with the validation of the two reports of the two previous meetings, the adoption of a number of recommendations and the designation of Togo as host of the 18th AGM of the WAPCCO.