The International Committee Paves the Way for the Organisation of the Second Edition of Fari-2025 In Benin

Benin’s Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Prof. Eleonore Yayi Ladekan, has expressed her satisfaction that the 2nd edition of the Forum for African Research and Innovation (FARI) will be held in her country in 2025.

Speaking at the opening of the meeting of the International Committee for the preparation of this event in Cotonou, Benin, on Tuesday 25 June 2025, Prof. Eléonore Yayi Ladekan outlined the major challenges facing FARI. “This initiative is part of our desire to place scientific research and technological innovation at the heart of African development. Africa still needs to make progress in making scientific research and technological innovation the pillars of its development. That is why sub-regional initiatives such as FARI are essential”, she declared.

In her view, FARI is also a platform for regional exchanges between researchers, innovators, decision-makers, the private sector and technical and financial partners. It is also intended to be a unifying, innovative and rewarding event for the region’s researchers, she added.

She expressed her conviction that this meeting would produce significant results that would live up to the expectations of all concerned and pave the way for a 2nd edition of the FARI that would be crowned with success and rich in discoveries.

In the same vein, the resident representative of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Benin, Amadou Diongue, believes that FARI-2025 will be an important turning point and should leave its mark, as it will be a key event in the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the creation of ECOWAS.

On behalf of the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr Oumar Alieu Touray, and the Commissioner for Human Development and Social Affairs, Prof. Fatou Sow Sarr, Amadou Diongue recalled that in the short term, FARI should be labelled as one of the major events for the promotion of science and innovation in Africa, and particularly in the Ecowas space.

To this end, he urged participants to engage in fruitful discussions and to formulate relevant recommendations that would contribute to the smooth organisation and success of FARI-2025.

He expressed his gratitude to the participants and to the various institutions that are constantly working to develop science, technology and innovation, both in Africa and in the Ecowas region.

Institutions present at the meeting, such as the Network of African Science Academies (NASAC) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), through its West Africa Office, expressed their support to ECOWAS for the establishment of FARI.

The President of NASAC, Prof. Mahouton Norbert Hounkonnou, and the representative of the Director of UNESCO’s Regional Office for West Africa, Ms Corinne Moussa Vignissy, pledged their support for FARI’s objectives.

As a reminder, it was on 9 December 2018, in Cotonou, that the 3rd meeting of ECOWAS ministers in charge of science, technology and innovation adopted the recommendation on the creation of FARI.

The Forum for African Research and Innovation (FARI) is the ECOWAS forum dedicated to science, technology and innovation. It stems from strategic axis 5 of the Action Plan of the regional organisation’s science, technology and innovation policy.

FARI is also the forum dedicated to promoting inventions and innovation by showcasing the region’s inventors and start-ups. Eventually, it should be accredited as one of the major science and innovation events in the ECOWAS region.

The main purpose of this preparatory meeting is to approve the terms of reference for the scientific committee, to draw up and validate the roadmap for practical organisation, and to propose the main theme and sub-themes, the discussion panels and the period for organising FARI-2025.

At the end of the opening ceremony, Amadou Diongue presented Prof. Eleonore Yayi Ladekan with the key to organising FARI-2025 in Benin.