Capacity building workshop for ECOWAS legal advisors on the implementation of the AFCFTA – Banjul, Gambia

On the 30^th of June 2025, the ECOWAS Commission, through its Trade and Legal Affairs Directorates, launched a high-level training and capacity-building workshop in Banjul, Republic of the Gambia, for legal advisers from EU institutions, focusing on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

This workshop is part of ECOWAS’ efforts to harmonise its legal instruments with the regulatory framework of the AfCFTA, and to equip its legal advisers with the tools needed to effectively support the implementation of this initiative at regional and national levels.

Representing the Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, Mrs Mas-sandjé Touré-Litsé, the Director of Trade, Mr Kolawole Sofola, welcomed the participants and underlined the strategic role of lawyers in regional integration. “This workshop is not only timely, it is essential. As the legal guarantors of our integration process, your expertise is crucial to ensuring that ECOWAS plays a leading role in the operationalisation of the AfCFTA”, he said.

The opening address was delivered by the Honourable Justice Sengu Mohamed Koro-ma, Vice-President of the ECOWAS Court of Justice, on behalf of the Court. He expressed his gratitude to the Commission for organising this workshop and reaffirmed the Court’s commitment to supporting the implementation of the AfCFTA through its judicial mandate. He then officially opened the proceedings, scheduled to last four days.