The ECOWAS Commission, in collaboration with the European Union (EU) and the German Cooperation through the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), has held a technical working session to finalise workplans for 13 strategic reform processes under the Trade in Services Programme (TiSP).

The session, held on 24 September 2026 at the New ECOWAS Headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria, brought together representatives of relevant ECOWAS Directorates, the EU Delegation and GIZ to jointly review and refine detailed workplans developed under the programme.

The meeting followed earlier technical engagements on the review of the TiSP framework and was aimed at advancing the workplans towards finalisation and implementation. The TiSP supports regional integration priorities by strengthening trade in services governance, improving regional competitiveness and supporting the implementation of regional commitments under the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Agenda.

The current exercise focused on ensuring that the proposed interventions are coherent, realistic and aligned with institutional responsibilities and the strategic direction of the 13 reform processes.

In his opening remarks, Dr. Hartmut James, Senior Technical Advisor at GIZ, thanked the ECOWAS Commission and other partners for their continued engagement in the process. He described the session as an important final step towards completing the workplan process, stressing the need for technical feedback from the responsible Directorates to ensure that the proposed activities are properly aligned with institutional priorities and responsibilities. He noted that the next stage would be to validate the workplans and proceed towards implementation.

Also speaking, Mr. Christopher Mensah-Yawson, Acting Principal Programme Officer (PPO), Trade Facilitation and Development, highlighted the growing importance of trade in services to regional economic integration. He noted that trade in services was no longer a peripheral concern but represented a growing share of intra-regional economic activity. According to him, the TiSP was designed to translate this growing importance into concrete actions, while welcoming participants to the technical session.

The session provided an opportunity for participants to jointly review the proposed activities under the 13 strategic reform processes, with particular attention to priorities, sequencing, timelines, institutional responsibilities and expected results.

Participants also reviewed the sequencing and prioritisation of activities through March 2029, identifying areas requiring adjustment and considering interdependencies and implementation considerations across the different reform processes.

The meeting further examined planned achievements against the programme’s outcome and output indicators to ensure that the proposed activities remained aligned with the expected results.

The latest engagement builds on a broader technical review process initiated earlier in 2026. In June, the ECOWAS Commission, the EU and GIZ reviewed the TiSP Logical Framework to identify implementation gaps, validate priority intervention areas and agree on revisions aimed at strengthening the programme’s effectiveness and strategic relevance.

Through its continued collaboration with the EU and GIZ, the ECOWAS Commission is working to translate the objectives of the Trade in Services Programme into coordinated, measurable and implementable actions that can contribute to deeper regional economic integration and a more competitive services sector across West Africa.