ECOWAS President pledges continued cooperation with Ethiopia to advance peace and stability in the horn of Africa

Abuja, Nigeria – 30 October 2025. The President of the ECOWAS Commission, H.E. Dr. Omar Alieu TOURAY, has  assured  the Government of Ethiopian of ECOWAS’ continued support for efforts aimed at promoting peace, stability, and development in the Horn of Africa, noting that inter-regional dialogue and cooperation are vital to addressing transnational threats and advancing the African Union’s Agenda 2063 vision for “The Africa We Want.”

Dr. TOURAY gave the assurance when he received in audience H.E. Ambassador Legesse Geremew HAILE, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, during a courtesy visit to the ECOWAS Commission Headquarters in Abuja, on 30 October 2025.

The visit provided an opportunity for both leaders to exchange views on issues of mutual interest, particularly the political and security dynamics in Ethiopia and the wider Horn of Africa region. The ECOWAS President emphasized that sustained peace and stability in every subregion of the continent remain critical to achieving Africa’s collective goals for integration, growth, and prosperity.

H.E. Dr. Omar Alieu TOURAY commended Ethiopia’s ongoing developmental, peacebuilding and reconciliation initiatives and reaffirmed ECOWAS’ readiness to strengthen collaboration with Ethiopian, the African Union and Regional Economic Communities to promote peace, security and regional integration on the continent.

“I want to use this opportunity to congratulate the government of Ethiopia for the completion and inauguration of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) The Dam is very critical in providing improved   of electricity and will bring development to Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa. Congratulations also to Ethiopian for the major improvement on the debt situation of the country.  It shows that with good policies, peace and security; the sky is the limit for the country, region and continent.” E. Dr. Omar Alieu TOURAY said

“The peace, security, stability and integration of the Horn of Africa and the continent is very important to ECOWAS. I have taken note of the emphasis the government of Ethiopia  has placed on its willingness to continue to engage and dialogue with any of the Riparian States that wants to engage with them . This is extremely important because our mutual co-existence needs to be enhanced through dialogue. The Government of Ethiopia can be rest assured of ECOWAS’ support in promoting this kind of dialogue and engagement.”  He added.

In his remarks, Ambassador HAILE highlighted the efforts of the Government of Ethiopia in consolidating peace, deepening regional cooperation, and promoting socio-economic development in the country and the region. These include the successful completion and inauguration of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), – Africa’s largest hydroelectric project located on the Blue Nile – as well as ongoing efforts to address the concerns of the riparian states through dialogue, among other things.  He underscored the importance of solidarity and partnership between African regional organizations in addressing common challenges and strengthening continental unity.

“The recent successful completion and inauguration of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is a very big achievement for the ordinary Ethiopians. The Dam has the capacity to generate about 5, 500 Megawatts of electricity. This will serve not only about 16 million plus Ethiopians, but it will also improve power supply in our neighbouring countries. The government of Ethiopia is willing and committed to addressing the concerns of the Riparian States and reach an understanding with them through dialogue in the overall interest, peace and stability of the region.”    

The meeting concluded with both leaders expressing commitment to deepening collaboration between ECOWAS and Ethiopia in areas of shared interest, particularly peace and security, governance, and regional integration.