ECOWAS Early Warning Exchange and Assessment Mission to Guinea

As part of exchanges and evaluations of the level of operation of National Early Warning Centers in member states, a working mission led by Dr. Onyinye Nkechi Onwuka, Ag. Director, Early Warning visited the Republic of Guinea from July 18 to 19, 2024.

During its stay, the mission first paid a courtesy call on the ECOWAS Resident Representative in Guinea, H.E. Louis Blaise AKA-BROU, before holding a technical meeting with the team from the National Coordination Centre for Early Warning and Response to Security Risks.

Within the context of strengthening the partnership between her directorate and the Guinean News Agency (AGP), the mission met with the Director General of the Agency, Mr. François Mara, during which both parties agreed on the appointment of a field monitor.

The Ag. Director of Early Warning and the Ag. Head of the Systems Management and Planning Division, Mr. Marcel Komi Bossou, organized a training session for field monitors, analysts and the liaison officer on the crisis prevention, management, and resolution mechanism.

The mission and the National Center had also an exchange with CENTIF (Cellule Nationale de traitement des Informations Financières). (CENTIF) is a financial intelligence unit under the supervision of the Central Bank and is GIABA’s focal point for the fight against money laundering and terrorism. The National Center and CENTIF will sign next week an MOU for partnership and collaboration.

The mission ended with an audience with the Prime Minister, Head of Government, Mr. Amadou Oury BAH at the Palais de la Colombe, headquarters of the Primature.

During the audience, the ECOWAS Resident Representative in Guinea congratulated the Guinean government on its immense contribution to the establishment of the Center, which he said was be considered a model for other countries.

He also announced that ECOWAS would be discussing with the Guinean authorities to agree on a date for the official launch of the Center, during which the President of the Commission would be present to witness the signing of the memorandum of understanding for the creation of the Center.

For her part, the Ag. Director of Early Warning reaffirmed ECOWAS’s commitment to making these centers operational and effective in order to contribute to the preservation of regional peace and stability. She informed the Prime Minister about the upcoming Country Resilience and Human Security Assessment the National Center is going to carried out with a technical support from the Early Warning Directorate and Financial Support from the African Development Bank (AfDB)

The Prime Minister, Head of Government, Mr. Amadou Oury BAH, on his part, underlined the need to reinforce the collaborative efforts of member states in the fight against all forms of scourge, which, according to him, threaten the security, and stability of the region.

Finally, the Prime Minister reiterated his government’s willingness to work with ECOWAS to preserve peace in the sub-region.

It should be noted that, this National Coordination Centre for Early Warning and Response to Security Risks is attached to the office of the Prime Minister, Head of Government of the Republic of Guinea.