Regional Peace and Security: ECOWAS Convene Strategic Meeting to Review Progress and Combat Insecurity.
By Raymond Enoch
In a significant move to fortify regional security architecture and respond proactively to mounting instability across West Africa, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) convened a high-level meeting of the Commandants of its Training Centres of Excellence (TCE) from September 15 to 17, 2025, at the prestigious Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre in Teshie, Ghana.
The critical gathering drew together heads of military and civilian training institutions, policy experts, and key international partners with a singular mission—to recalibrate the strategic role of ECOWAS’s training institutions in addressing the fast-evolving security challenges facing the region. From terrorism in the Sahel to increasing threats of violent extremism and state fragility, the discussions centered on bridging operational gaps, realigning curricula, and ensuring that training is not only practical but grounded in robust research and regional realities.
Ambassador Abdel-Fatau Musah, ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace, and Security, underscored the urgency and strategic value of the meeting. “This gathering is not just a technical alignment,” he said. “It is a recalibration of how we train, how we prepare, and how we anticipate. The linkage between training modules and research outcomes is fundamental. Programs must be needs-based and evidence-driven to be effective in today’s West African security climate.”
The call for integration was echoed by Ambassador Mohammed Lawan Gana, ECOWAS Resident Representative in Ghana, who highlighted the escalating insecurity in the Sahel as a grave concern with ripple effects threatening to destabilize the entire sub-region. “The spillover of insecurity demands not just coordination but political will,” Gana stated. “We must double down on our efforts, strengthen institutional resilience, and empower our Training Centres of Excellence to lead the charge in shaping credible responses to the region’s threats.”
As insecurity intensifies and traditional peacekeeping frameworks are tested by asymmetric threats, the role of the ECOWAS TCEs has never been more critical. From Mali to the Gulf of Guinea, the region’s stability hinges on the readiness and relevance of its peace and security apparatus. During the three-day summit, participants engaged in detailed assessments of existing training programs, deliberated on emerging trends in regional security, and mapped out actionable strategies to enhance the TCEs’ operational effectiveness.
The outcome of the meeting signals a renewed commitment from ECOWAS to reinforce peace operations, harmonize training standards, and foster cross-institutional collaboration across member states. With a sharp focus on evidence-led capacity building, the Training Centres of Excellence are poised to become not only conduits of learning but engines of peace innovation.
As West Africa stands at a crossroads—buffeted by coups, insurgency, and fragile democracies—the ECOWAS Training Centres of Excellence are being rearmed not with weapons, but with the tools of knowledge, research, and strategic foresight to keep the region safe, stable, and sovereign.
