Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has told member states that the challenges in the areas of democracy, health, security, economy, trade and currency, must be addressed in a spirit of genuine cooperation and solidarity, if the region is to overcome them.
He made this known on Monday, 21st September 2020, when he paid a working visit to the offices of the ECOWAS Commission in Abuja, Nigeria.
Mr Akufo-Addo said “As we round off the implementation of ECOWAS Vision 2020, and finalise the development of Vision 2050, we should strive to make ECOWAS a Community in which our dreams of prosperity, peace, security, integration and development are realised for the well-being of its citizens.”
He explained that the purpose of his visit was to interact with the management and staff of the ECOWAS Office after he was recently elected Chair of the regional body.
“The challenges in the areas of democracy, health, security, economy, trade and currency, must be addressed in a spirit of genuine cooperation and solidarity, if we are to overcome them, which I am confident we can. I believe that, collectively, we can all make ECOWAS the most viable regional bloc in Africa, and realise the vision of transforming ECOWAS from ‘a body of states to a community of peoples’,” President Akufo-Addo said.
To this end, the President outlined his 5-point Agenda for the chairmanship of the Community, which, he said, are the fight against terrorism; winning the fight against COVID-19; trading under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA); the issue of a monetary union in ECOWAS; and, lastly, the consolidation of democratic governance in the Region.
He also commended the President of the ECOWAS Commission, His Excellency Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, and, indeed, the Commission for the achievements chalked in the areas of infrastructure, agriculture and humanitarian assistance.
“In the infrastructure, I am aware that the Commission and its Specialized Agencies are implementing a number of infrastructure projects in the road, rail, maritime, energy and telecommunications sectors,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo continued, “I encourage the Commission to accelerate the implementation of infrastructure projects such as the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway Development Project, the Praia-Dakar-Abidjan Corridor Development Programme, and the Dakar-Bamako Railway Project. On telecommunications, the issue of high cost of roaming services should be resolved as soon as possible.”
By Laud Nartey|3news.com|Ghana