Commemoration of the 48th anniversary of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Togo.

Lomé, Togo, 7 June 2023. The Permanent Representation of the ECOWAS Commission in Togo, in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and Togolese Abroad, and the ECOWAS National Office at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, organised, on 31 May 2023, a panel discussion at the Village du Benin of the University of Lomé on the challenges of regional integration in the ECOWAS region.

The event was attended by staff from the Togolese civil service (ministries of Agriculture, Trade, Territorial Administration, Security, Transport, Customs and the Togolese Revenue Office), the private sector, civil society, Road Transport Workers unions, student organisations from the University of Lomé, the media, members of the Federation of ECOWAS Nationals (from Benin, Niger, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Nigeria, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, The Gambia, and Togo), and ECOWAS staff in Togo.

The opening ceremony was chaired by the Resident Representative, H.E. Barros Bacar Banjai, assisted by the Director of Political Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and Togolese Abroad, Mr Mani Kondi, who gave the welcome address. The opening ceremony was attended by the ECOWAS-UEMOA National Office.

In his speech, H.E. Barros Bacar Banjai stated that prosperity cannot be achieved without economic, social, political, and cultural integration, which is why, in choosing this theme to celebrate its 48 years of existence, ECOWAS aimed to place the Community’s citizens at the very heart of the development process, as direct beneficiaries of the programmes and projects it implements for the benefit of its Member States, and for the attainment of its Vision 2050, which will make us actualise the vision of an “ECOWAS of the People: Peace and Prosperity for All”. He then reviewed the political and organisational history of the institution and cited the major achievements of ECOWAS integration over the years. He recalled the main points of the message from the President of the Commission on the occasion of the ECOWAS 48th anniversary celebration, which included Vision 2050, the Commission President’s 4 x 4 Strategic Objectives for the next 4 years, which aim to work towards shared prosperity and, which fit in perfectly with Vision 2050, the free movement of persons and goods and the task force on the trade liberalisation scheme (SLE), etc.

Finally, he took the opportunity to remind the audience that Togo is both a model and a pilot in the implementation of one of the pillars of the integration process, namely the Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons, Right of Residence and Establishment.

This was followed by a brief speech by the President of the Federation of ECOWAS Nationals and the two papers scheduled for the day, which were on

• ü The Challenges of Regional Integration: Free Movement of Persons and Goods; Trade Liberalisation Scheme in our Community, by Mr Tei Konzi, Advisor to the President of Togo, former Commissioner for Trade, Customs and Free Movement.
• ü ECOWAS Interventions in the Area of Food and Nutrition Security, presented by Mr Simba Kado Alphonse, Technical Assistant at RAAF.

The richness of the exchanges that followed the two presentations showed the great interest of participants in the themes.

The 48^th-anniversary celebration in Togo was an opportunity for cultural blending for ECOWAS nationals from several countries in the sub-region, as well as a moment of fraternal communion among West African citizens in the march towards an ECOWAS of people and shared prosperity.