ECOWAS chief calls for new reforms to boost regional integration in West Africa
Written by: Ayman Ragab
In his final address as chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission, Omar Aliou Toure on Sunday urged West African leaders to strengthen regional integration and accelerate reforms of the organization, which faces growing security, political and economic challenges.
The president of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission, Omar Aliou Toure, on Sunday called on heads of state and government to embark on a new cycle of reforms to strengthen regional integration, believing that the organization was at a ”significant turning point” in its history.
The challenges are becoming increasingly complex and interconnected.
In his address at the opening of the 69th Ordinary Session of the Conference of Heads of State and Government in Lungi, Sierra Leone, Touray stressed that more than 50 years after the creation of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the people’s expectations for peace, security, prosperity and opportunity ”have never been higher,“ even as the challenges have become increasingly complex and interconnected. .
The Commission President called on the leaders to renew their commitment to solidarity, cooperation and regional integration, believing that the decisions taken at this summit will shape the future of nearly 450 million citizens in the Community's region.
In his final address to heads of state as President of the Commission, Omar Aliyu Touray noted that his term was marked by unconstitutional changes in government, political upheavals, terrorism, violent extremism, economic shocks, and the effects of climate change.
The leaders called for the adoption of a “Charter for the Future” that sets common goals, including increasing intra-regional trade to 40% by 2035, creating a single digital market by 2030, integrating the regional energy market by 2035, restoring constitutional order in member states by 2030, enhancing women’s representation in community institutions, and increasing the mobilization of resources for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Achieving the African Union's Agenda 2063
”The success of the Economic Community of West African States is inseparable from the success of Africa,“ he stated, believing that the existence of a strong regional organization would directly contribute to achieving the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
This speech marks the end of Omar Aliou Touray's term as head of the Commission. Last December, the heads of state of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) decided to entrust the organization's chairmanship to Senegal for the period 2026-2030. General Biram Diop, nominated by Dakar, is slated to succeed the Gambian official at the helm of the group's executive body.
Before concluding his speech, Omar Aliou Toure thanked the heads of state for the trust they had placed in him during his four-year tenure, stating that he was leaving his post ”with humility, gratitude and confidence” in the future of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
