{"id":127314,"date":"2026-03-12T11:56:21","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T11:56:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ecowas.int\/?p=127314"},"modified":"2026-03-12T11:58:37","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T11:58:37","slug":"ecowas-stakeholders-call-for-accelerated-trade-economic-integration-and-sustainable-development-in-west-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ecowas.int\/?p=127314","title":{"rendered":"ECOWAS STAKEHOLDERS CALL FOR ACCELERATED TRADE, ECONOMIC INTEGRATION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN WEST AFRICA"},"content":{"rendered":"

The ECOWAS Commission brought together representatives from Member States, the Private Sector, Civil Society, and Academia to discuss \u201cThe Future of Regional Trade, Economic Integration, and Sustainable Development in West Africa\u201d from 3 \u2013 6 March 2026 in Abidjan, Cote d\u2019Ivoire.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

During the opening remarks, H.E. Adama Dosso, Deputy Minister for African Integration of the Republic of C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire<\/strong>, highlighted achievements made by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) while noting structural challenges that continue to hinder deeper regional integration. He called for the removal of non-tariff barriers, the digitalization of documentation and procedures, promotion of industrialization, greater investment in infrastructure, as well as robust monitoring evaluation frameworks to support the realization of ECOWAS Vision 2050.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In his keynote address, Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, Chairman of the ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme (ETLS) Taskforce<\/strong>, also acknowledged the Community\u2019s achievements over the last five decades but noted that intra-regional trade continues to lag below 15%. He called for greater emphasis on industrialization, value addition, agricultural financing, and youth employment. Urging delegates to move beyond theoretical frameworks, he called on them to leave the meeting with concrete, actionable recommendations that translate regional integration from aspiration into measurable, on-the-ground reality.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In his remarks, Dr. Kalilou Sylla, ECOWAS Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture<\/strong>, noted that several ECOWAS Member States are amongst the fastest growing economies worldwide, with current growth trajectories and long-term forecasts projecting some could rank among the top 20 economies in the next 50 \u2013 70 years. He called on all stakeholders to play an active role in this process.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

During their deliberations, the participants acknowledged the progress achieved in advancing regional integration, while expressing concern regarding the mounting global and regional challenges confronting the region such as climate change, geopolitical tensions, unilateral trade measures, global conflicts, and increasing competition over critical mineral resources. They further noted the growing regional pressures arising from insecurity, food shortages, inflation, transhumance, drought, and the progressive depletion of water resources.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The meeting expressed concern that more than five decades after the establishment of ECOWAS, the objective of a fully operational regional common market is yet to be attained. While the visa-free regime constitutes a significant milestone in facilitating mobility within the Community, the protocols relating to the free movement of persons, goods, and capital have yet to be fully implemented. The delegates therefore called for the urgent removal of both tariff and non-tariff barriers to intra-regional trade and the accelerated deployment and effective operationalization of digital customs systems, including SIGMAT and electronic certificates of origin, in order to facilitate trade.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The participants further noted the repeated postponements in the realization of the ECOWAS single currency, emphasising the need to restore momentum toward monetary integration and develop interoperable digital payment systems.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The meeting underscored the need for greater inclusion of youth and women in regional integration, noting their underrepresentation in policy and decision-making despite constituting the majority of the population. In this regard, the delegates emphasized the importance of strengthening support for small and medium-scale cross-border traders, improving protection mechanisms at border crossings, and fostering deeper engagement with civil society as essential measures to promote more inclusive regional integration.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The participants expressed concern over environmental degradation and food security, calling for reinforced agricultural cooperation, climate-smart practices, and stronger agricultural financing mechanisms.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A dedicated panel session, which was moderated by H.E. Mrs. Sandra Isabelle FOLQUET, Head of the ECOWAS National of Cote d\u2019Ivoire<\/strong>, bringing together several high-level speakers from Cote d\u2019Ivoire, representing Government, Private Sector, and Civil Society, as well as a representative from the ECOWAS Commission, shared the successes and challenges of regional integration from the perspective of Cote d\u2019Ivoire.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In conclusion, delegates called for ECOWAS to transition from protocols and policies to results, emphasising the need for strengthened political will, enhanced citizen participation, and concrete actions to deliver tangible benefits to the more than 400 million people of the region.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The ECOWAS Commission brought together representatives from Member States, the Private Sector, Civil Society, and Academia to discuss \u201cThe Future of Regional Trade, Economic Integration, and Sustainable Development in West Africa\u201d from 3 \u2013 6 March 2026 in Abidjan, Cote d\u2019Ivoire.   During the opening remarks, H.E. Adama Dosso, Deputy Minister for African Integration of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":127315,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[300,480,12,35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-127314","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-news","category-info-cedeao-2","category-news","category-press-releases"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecowas.int\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127314","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecowas.int\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecowas.int\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecowas.int\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecowas.int\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=127314"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecowas.int\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127314\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":127330,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecowas.int\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127314\/revisions\/127330"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecowas.int\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/127315"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecowas.int\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=127314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecowas.int\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=127314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecowas.int\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=127314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}