ECOWAS President Urges Private Sector to Support Regional Institutions and Governments’
By Raymond Enoch
The President of the ECOWAS Commission H.E Omar Alieu Touray has called on the Private Sector actors of the Economic Community of West African States ( ECOWAS) to support Regional Institutions and Government in order to ” exploit the vast potentials in the community.
H E Dr Omar Alieu Touray made this call today in Abuja while speaking at the 93rd Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers meeting holding at the Commission’s headquarters
H E Dr Omar Alieu Touray who spoke on a wide range of issues affecting the ECOWAS Sub -Region ,said that the Commission will continue to measure the impact of the “Community’s investments in regional cooperation and integration through the Human Capital Development” , maintained that priorities would be given to other areas such as health, nutrition, entrepreneurship financial inclusion and digitalization.
He raised concerned about the exit of the countries of Niger Burkina Faso and Mali from the Ecowas community noting that the Commission and other Member State would continue to engage the military junta and authorities to reconsider the position taken on exiting the ECOWAS protocol , saying that it is a challenge no member country can confront alone.
According to him “” these challenges are far above the capacity of any single member state of the Community to overcome. That is why we are concerned about the decision of the Military authorities in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger to withdraw from our community. We will continue to engage with these authorities to reconsider their decision, which will serve no one party” to said
On telecommunications , Dr Omar Alieu Touray said that progress has been recorded on the implementation of ECOWAS Regulation on Roaming on Public Mobile Communications Networks in the ECOWAS Space. He said that phased implementation of this roaming tariff rates is progressing through several bilateral arrangements.
“The ECOWAS Roaming is now live in at least six (6)-member states since its adoption in December 2017 by this Council ,he added
On energy the ECOWAS Commission President hinted about the regional integrative project which aims to build a gas pipeline linking Nigeria to Morocco, feeding ECOWAS member states and Mauritania with future extension to Europe, saying that It is an infrastructure of 6,800 km long, including 5,100 km offshore, with a transport capacity of 30 billion cubic feet of natural gas per year.
In addition, a Framework Document for the Establishment of an ECOWAS Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Facility has been finalised by the Ministers. This is a new blended finance facility with an initial amount of USD75 million, whose objective is to provide grants, loans and guarantees through regular demand-driven competitive calls for proposals providing clean energy solutions for the ECOWAS region.
Earlier In his welcome speech at the meeting, His Excellency Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, Nigeria Foreign Affairs Minister and Chairman Council of Ministers of the ECOWAS Region, reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to the ECOWAS Commission, saying that this commitment is sacrosanct ,noting that It is expedient for the body to realize it’s potential.
Amb Tuggar said that ECOWAS is standing at a cross road of its existence, saying that the region is faced with multifaceted challenges that can only be overcome through enhanced cooperation and a deeper common understanding among our Member States. He added that this requires assiduous statecraft and diplomatic understanding.
He commended the ECOWAS Management on their recent efforts on humanitarian interventions in our Member States,
According to him “my commendation goes to the staff of various Community Institutions and Agencies that have been instrumental in coming up with such laudable initiatives that positively provide succor to our populace” staying that he ” encourage the Management and Staff to remain focused in pushing forward policies, projects, and programs that will enhance the effectiveness of the regional bloc and fulfill the mandate of our community”
Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar who declared the ECOWAS Council of Ministers session open called on members nother to engage in a constructive deliberations, with the purposefulness in order to enable them come up with important recommendations for our Heads of State and Government that will propel our community forward.
