Dr Oumar Alien Touray, the President of ECOWAS Commission, has bemoaned the low intra-regional trade, with trading hovering around 12 per cent among the West African member states.
He, therefore, called for urgent reforms to dismantle non-tariff barriers, improve infrastructure, and boost productivity across member states to help attain the vision of the founding fathers.
Speaking during the ECOWAS 50th Anniversary launch in Accra on Tuesday, Dr Touray appealed to the local and international investors to tap into the region’s economic potential, with over 400 million people.
He described ECOWAS as the most integrated regional bloc on the African continent, citing the Free Movement Protocol, which enabled citizens of member states to travel, reside and work across borders without a visa.
Dr Touray made reference to the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS), which had registered over 15,000 companies and more than 50,000 products for duty-free access across the sub-region.
The ECOWAS Commission President, therefore, urged citizens of the West African bloc not to discount the achievements made over the past five decades, despite the challenges facing the regional bloc.
He acknowledged the difficult political and economic climate within the Community but insisted there was still much to celebrate.
“The 50-year achievement of the Economic Community of West African States in regional integration is something worth celebrating,” he noted.
“In the current context, many would be forgiven for asking if there is anything about ECOWAS that should be celebrated. Our response to such citizens is an emphatic yes – and I have my reasons.”
“Thank God, no ECOWAS member state is among the countries that require Mr. Dangote to hassle,” he said, referencing Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote’s recent complaints about travel difficulties across Africa.
Dr Touray also mentioned the Interconnected System for the Management of Goods in Transit, now operational in seven countries, as a key initiative minimising customs delays and improving cross-border logistics.
Infrastructure development remained a challenge in the sub-region, he said, and thus outlined a 25-year master plan featuring 201 projects across transport, energy, telecoms, and water, valued at $131 billion.
He highlighted some flagship initiatives such as 1,028km Lagos–Abidjan Highway, estimated at nearly $15 billion and now ready for investment.
Other major projects include the Banjul–Dakar–Abidjan corridor, the Abidjan–Praia Maritime route, and energy efforts under the West African Power Pool.
Dr Touray cited ECOWAS’s $340 million off-grid electricity access programme as part of efforts to close the region’s energy gap.
On social impact, he lauded the role of the West African Health Organisation in coordinating regional responses to Ebola, COVID-19, and Mpox.
He added that initiatives in climate-smart agriculture, food security, and vocational training reflected the bloc’s commitment to human-centred development.
The ECOWAS Commission President reiterated ECOWAS’s record in promoting peace and democracy, and cited the bloc’s interventions in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, and The Gambia.
“It was ECOWAS that ensured the will of the people of The Gambia prevailed in 2016,” he said, referencing the bloc’s successful diplomatic and military intervention to end Yahya Jammeh’s rule after he rejected election results.
On maritime security, he noted that no piracy incidents had been recorded in West African waters since 2024 and attributed the successes to the ECOWAS’s coordinated security efforts in the Gulf of Guinea.
Dr Touray underscored the need for the Community to promote collective action and dialogue towards resolving Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger exit from the regional bloc.
“Despite the challenges, I remain optimistic that we will collectively preserve and build on the gains of regional integration — for our people who are united by blood.”
Some of the high profile personalities present at the launch event were President of Liberia, Joseph Boakai, Vice President of The Gambia, Muhammad B.S. Jallow, President of ECOWAS Commission, former President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and Vice President of ECOWAS Commission, Damtien Tchintchibidja.
As part of the ECOWAS 50th Anniversary launch, ministers of Foreign Affairs and Finance within the Community would hold an extraordinary meeting of Council of Ministers to deliberate on the withdrawal of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger from the West African bloc to form the Alliance of Sahelian States.
The meeting would enable the Council to properly brief the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS during their next Summit.
The ECOWAS Golden Jubilee celebration is on the theme: “Stronger Together, For a Brighter Future”.
The theme highlights the power of unity, regional cooperation, and shared commitment as the foundation on which a prosperous and sustainable future would be built for citizens within the Community.
Source: GNA
The post ECOWAS advocates reforms to improve intra-regional trade appeared first on Ghana Business News.
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