The mid-year statutory meetings of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have kicked off in Abuja, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, ahead of the Summit of the Authority of Heads of State and Governments slated for this weekend.
On Tuesday, June 25, 2019, the 82nd Ordinary Session of the Council of Ministers of ECOWAS opened at the headquarters of the ECOWAS Commission in Abuja.
According to a dispatch from the Liberian Embassy in Abuja, Liberia’s Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abraham K. Korvah, Sr., and the Deputy Finance Minister for Fiscal Affairs, Samora P. Z. Wolokollie, was accompanied to the meeting by Liberia’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Dr.Al-Hassan Conteh.
The Council will be considering several key issues expected to climax later on Wednesday, June 26, 2019, the dispatch says.
Among key issues to be considered during the Council of Ministers’ meeting include the memoranda on the hosting of the Headquarters of the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor, the award of the 2018 ECOWAS Prize of Excellence, the ECOWAS Human Capital Development Strategy and High-Level dialogue on human capital development in West Africa.
The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, in his opening statement, highlighted the vision of the Founding Fathers of ECOWAS who saw the need to tackle the challenges facing their countries jointly, the dispatch said.
“The Heads of State and Government recognized the need to jointly tackle the challenges facing their countries and pool resources, while respecting their diversity, in order to achieve stability in the
region, ensure rapid growth and optimized production, and raise the living standards of the people,” he said.
President Brou added that they must all remember the course set by the Founding Fathers and continuously embrace it as a compass that will steer their actions and evaluate the progress made.
TSS/abj/APA