The Third Group of the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS) Task Force held its inaugural meeting on 5 and 6 November 2026 in Cotonou, Republic of Benin. The meeting marks the beginning of a new four-year mandate aimed at strengthening the implementation of the Scheme and addressing persistent barriers to intra-regional trade.

The opening ceremony brought together the President of the ECOWAS Commission, H.E. General Birame Diop; the Minister of Economy and Finance, in charge of Cooperation of the Republic of Benin, Mr. Aristide Medenou; the Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, Hon. Dephue Y. Zuo; the ECOWAS Resident Representative to the Republic of Benin, H.E. Ambassador Siaka Cissoko; the outgoing Chairman of the ETLS Task Force, H.E. Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas; the incoming Chairman, Hon. Musa Silla; and members of the Task Force, Directors of the ECOWAS Commission, the Permanent Secretariat of the Task Force and other participants.

The meeting featured welcome remarks by the ECOWAS Resident Representative to Benin, H.E. Ambassador Siaka Cissoko, who underscored the importance of the ETLS as a key instrument for regional economic integration and commended the contributions of the two previous Task Forces.

In his address, the outgoing Chairman, H.E. Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, highlighted the need to consolidate previous achievements and address persistent implementation challenges, including administrative delays, road harassment, inconsistent application of Community rules and other non-tariff barriers. He urged the members of the new Task Force to build on existing achievements and develop a focused programme of action.

The incoming Chairman, Hon. Musa Silla, expressed his appreciation to the ECOWAS Commission for the confidence placed in the new Task Force. He outlined four strategic priorities: rapid response and dispute resolution, corridor-based trade facilitation, compliance monitoring and accountability, and private sector engagement. He also emphasised the need for a clear strategic agenda and an operational action plan for the first 100 days and the first year of the mandate.

The President of the ECOWAS Commission, H.E. General Birame Diop, reaffirmed the Commission’s full support for the Task Force. He highlighted the importance of increasing intra-regional trade, currently estimated at approximately 13 per cent, towards the Community’s target of 40 per cent by 2035, in line with ECOWAS Vision 2050. He also highlighted key customs administration modernisation initiatives, including the Electronic Certificate of Origin, self-certification for authorised exporters and the expansion of SIGMAT.

The President called for concerted efforts to eliminate non-tariff barriers, improve border procedures, strengthen compliance with Community regulations and enhance cooperation among Member States. He assured the members of the Task Force of the Commission’s technical and institutional support in carrying out their mandate.

In his opening remarks, the Minister of Economy and Finance, in charge of Cooperation of the Republic of Benin, Mr. Aristide Medenou, welcomed participants and reaffirmed Benin’s commitment to regional integration. He underscored the importance of the ETLS in fostering a dynamic and integrated West African market and called on the new Task Force to develop practical recommendations to facilitate trade and support regional businesses. He also announced that the President of the Republic of Benin had accepted to serve as the Champion of the ETLS and that he would make every effort to facilitate the mission of the new Task Force team towards achieving effective economic integration in the region. The Minister subsequently declared the meeting open.

It is noteworthy that the new Task Force is composed of five (5) members, with Mr. Musa SILLAH of The Gambia serving as Chairman. The other members are from Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Ghana and Cabo Verde. The Permanent Secretariat is headed by Mr. Bazoumana DIABATE.

The meeting marks the effective commencement of the mandate of the Third Group of the ETLS Task Force.

On the sidelines of the inaugural meeting of the Third Group of the Task Force, the President of the ECOWAS Commission paid a courtesy visit to the President of the Republic of Benin.

A ceremony for the handover of IT equipment was also held at the Directorate General of Customs of Benin, with the support of TradeMark Africa (TMA), to strengthen the operational capacity of Benin’s Customs Administration in implementing the ECOWAS Interconnected System for the Management of Goods in Transit (SIGMAT).

Launched by ECOWAS in 2019, SIGMAT enables Member States to electronically exchange information on goods in transit, thereby facilitating their movement across the region. Although Benin was among the first Member States to deploy the system, limitations in IT infrastructure had constrained its optimal utilisation. The equipment is expected to reduce downtime of Benin’s national SIGMAT node, accelerate the exchange of transit data with neighbouring countries, and strengthen the Customs Administration’s capacity to operate and secure the system.

The IT equipment handover ceremony was attended by the Director of Customs Union and Taxation of the ECOWAS Commission, Mr. Darlington Y. Talery; the Deputy Director-General of Customs of Benin; Ms. Christian of TradeMark Africa; and other representatives of the participating institutions.