ECOWAS Vision 2050 at the Heart of the Ecowas 48th Anniversary Celebration in the Republic of Guinea

Conakry, 6 June 2023; the ECOWAS Permanent Representation in the Republic of Guinea, as part of ECOWAS 48th anniversary celebration and in accordance with its programme of activities, organised a series of activities to mark this historic date, 28 May 1975, when ECOWAS was established in Lagos, Nigeria.

The celebration was launched by a message to the nation read out on national television on 29 May 2023 by the honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Integration and Guineans Living Abroad, Dr. Morissanda Kouyaté.

The rest of the activities took place from 2 to 3 June 2023, on the campus of Foulaya University, in the administrative region of Kindia, about 150 km from the Guinean capital.

The event commenced on 2 June 2023 with a motorcade followed by an inter-faculty gala match between campuses A and B, girls’ and boys’ teams, at the Kindia University stadium.

The event was attended by the region’s authorities, headed by the Governor, the Rector of Kindia University, lecturers and teachers, the local population, and a delegation from the ECOWAS Permanent Representation led by the Resident Representative, H.E Louis Blaise Aka-Brou.   At the end of the matches, the boys’ and girls’ teams from Campus B won the tournament.

On 3 June 2023, a conference on ECOWAS Vision 2050 was held on three (3) themes, namely:

1. “ECOWAS Vision 2050, ECOWAS of the People, Peace and Prosperity for all; a Factor for Regional Integration”.
2. “Challenges of the Free Movement of People and Goods within the ECOWAS region”.
3. “The Role of ECOWAS Permanent Representations in the Promotion of Democracy and Good Governance in Member States”.

 The opening ceremony of the conference was attended by the Governor of the region, the Prefect, the Director-General of African Integration and Director of the ECOWAS National Office representing the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Integration and Guineans living abroad, the Rector of the University of Kindia, the ECOWAS Resident Representative in Guinea, the Deans of the faculties and students of the university.

In his speech during the ceremony, the ECOWAS Resident Representative in Guinea, H.E Louis Blaise Aka-Brou recalled the objectives of the conference which include the promotion of the visibility of ECOWAS and sensitising the students on the ECOWAS Vision 2050 with the slogan “ECOWAS of the People, Peace and Prosperity for all”.

The ECOWAS Resident Representative in Guinea also underlined the commitment of ECOWAS founding fathers, who contributed immensely towards the preservation of peace, security, and economic integration in the West African sub-region.

On behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Integration and Guineans Living Abroad, Alhaji Ibrahima Diallo, Director-General of African Integration and Director of the ECOWAS National Office, reiterated the commitment of the transitional authorities to promoting sub-regional integration and community development.

The representative of the Governor of Kindia Region, Alhaji Lamarana Barry, reassured ECOWAS of the readiness of the local and regional authorities to support ECOWAS in achieving its objectives for 2050, of which Guinea is a stakeholder.

After the presentations on the various themes, there was a question-and-answer session, followed by recommendations to ECOWAS.

The ceremony ended with the presentation of a photocopier on behalf of ECOWAS to the university’s management, who were in turn gratified by the gesture of the ECOWAS Permanent Representation towards the promotion of education.