THE Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is committed to promoting peace and security in the sub-region, particularly in addressing issues of extremist activities in the Sahel.
While acknowledging the recent withdrawal of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger from the regional bloc to form the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), the regional body is committed to using dialogue in addressing the issue.
The Resident Representative of ECOWAS in Ghana, Mohammed Lawan Gana, said this during an interactive engagement with students of the School of Business at the University of Education, Winneba (UEW).
The event, which formed part of activities marking “ECOWAS @ 50,” was to sensitise students to the bloc’s achievements over the past five decades and to inspire a new generation of leaders and entrepreneurs to champion regional cooperation, economic transformation and peacebuilding.
Mr Gana indicated that ECOWAS was committed to ensuring peace and security dialogue and reaffirmed that ECOWAS remained committed to unity, cooperation and an open-door policy.
“ECOWAS was established to promote peace and economic development in West Africa, and over the years, we have made significant strides in addressing regional challenges,” he said.
Mr Gana further indicated that ECOWAS was pursuing a strategic roadmap aimed at achieving full regional integration by 2050 by removing barriers separating member states and promoting peace, security, and stability to drive growth across the sub-region.
He indicated that ECOWAS Vision 2050 seeks to transition the regional bloc from an “ECOWAS of States” to an “ECOWAS of People: Peace and Prosperity for All.”
Mr Gana noted that ongoing initiatives, including digital technology training programmes for Ghanaian youth, partnerships with innovation hubs, health interventions through the West African Health Organisation and infrastructure projects such as the Lagos–Abidjan Highway corridor would help the sub-region.
To that end, he said, ECOWAS and ECOWAS will continue to involve them in political, social, and economic decision-making to foster development.
In his remarks, the Dean of the School of Business, UEW, Prof. Richard Oduro, observed that while ECOWAS had played a stabilising role in democratic governance and conflict mediation, its mandate had become even more urgent amid rising global uncertainty, inflationary pressures and youth unemployment across member states.
He cited Ghana’s recent macroeconomic challenges, including high inflation and exchange rate volatility, as evidence of the need for strong regional mechanisms to safeguard economic stability.
Prof. Oduro highlighted the alignment between ECOWAS’ integration objectives and Ghana’s national development priorities, including industrialisation, private sector development, digital transformation and human capital growth.
The Chairperson for the programme and the Principal of the College of Languages Education, Prof. Rebecca Akpanglo-Nartey, for her part, affirmed UEW’s readiness, through the School of Business and the UEW Innovation Hub, to partner with ECOWAS in nurturing innovators and enterprise leaders who could compete across regional markets.
She called for urgent action towards youth empowerment and women-led enterprise development in West Africa, as over 60 per cent of the population is under 25 years.
FROM DAVID O. YARBOI-TETTEH, WINNEBA
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