ECOWAS moves to improve competitiveness in West Africa through enhancing production, transformation, and export capacity
03 Nov, 2022Abuja, Nigeria, October 28, 2022. The Fifth (5th) meeting of the Strategic Steering Committee of the West Africa Competitiveness Programme (WACOMP) was held from October 27 to 28, 2022 at The Wells Carlton Hotels, Abuja and was preceded by the 10th Technical Committee meeting of the Regional component, which took place from 25 October to 26 October 2022.
The WACOMP, which is financed by the European Union and implemented with the support of ITC and UNIDO at the regional level, aims to support several selected value chains at national and regional levels to promote structural transformation and better access to regional and international markets. Its overall objective is to strengthen the competitiveness of West African countries and improve their integration into the regional and international trading system.
On behalf of H.E. Dr. Omar Alieu TOURAY, President of the ECOWAS Commission, Mrs Massandjé TOURE-LITSE, Commissioner for Economic Affairs & Agriculture thanked the Government of Nigeria, for accepting to host the meeting. She indicated that the WACOMP has recorded positive results, through strengthening Business Support Organizations, developing value chains on Cassava, Mango, Textiles & Garments, Information & Communication Technologies, as well as quality standards and Infrastructure.
In her remarks, Ms. Inga Stefanowicz, Head of Section – Green and Digital Economy at EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, indicated that WACOMP had made it possible to meet urgent needs in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in the region. She also underlined the importance of the Programme in supporting post-COVID-19 economic recovery and building the capacities of the targeted value chain actors in the region.
The 5th meeting of the Strategic Steering Committee of the WACOMP considered the implementation status of the regional and national components, and Member States contributed productively to the discussions through sharing of experiences. At the end of the 2-day meeting, the Committee formulated recommendations to improve both the coordination and the technical implementation of the different components of the Programme.
The participants in the WACOMP Strategic Steering Committee meeting were representatives of the ECOWAS commission, ECOWAS Member States, the EU as well as ITC and UNIDO.
