S RELEASE
“Exploring future collaboration: the African Development
Bank and the ECOWAS Commission will organize a high-level consultation mission for the mid-term review of the Regional Integration Strategy Paper (RISP) 2020-2025”
The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission will meet for a four-day high-level consultation mission, from September 5 to 8, 2023 in Abuja at ECOWAS Headquarters.
The high-level mission to the ECOWAS Commission is part of the wider AfDB consultation mission to the Federal Republic of Nigeria which aimed at combined mid-term review and regional portfolio performance review of the Regional Integration Strategy (RISP) for West Africa covering the period 2020 -2025. The RISP was approved by the Bank in May 2020 and it provides the programmatic and financial framework to support regional integration efforts in the subregion.
The main objective of the mission is to assess, in consultation with relevant regional and national authorities and stakeholders, the progress made in implementing the West Africa RISP 2020-2025. More specifically, the mission will:
i. Draw up an inventory of results achieved and lessons learned in the implementation of the West Africa RISP 2020-2025.
ii. Update and enrich the Bank's analyses of the opportunities and challenges of regional integration in West Africa, particularly considering uncertainties created by regional shocks and tightening global conditions.
iii. Conduct a comprehensive review of the performance of the West African regional portfolio, and propose a robust and realistic improvement plan, informed by the lessons learned.
iv. Strengthen high-level dialogue between the Bank, the ECOWAS Commission and other national and regional institutions on all issues relating to regional integration, and in particular, the mobilization of resources for regional projects, strengthening of implementation capacities, addressing fragility and recent shocks in the region, establishment of a regional early warning system, and the progress on the securityindexed-investment bonds.
v. Assess the relevance of the priority areas of the West Africa RISP 2020-2025 to the strategic priorities of ECOWAS and adjust the pipeline of regional operations to be implemented during the remaining period of the strategy, i.e., from 2023 to 2025, based on these priorities and the available funding possibilities.
vi. Collect data and information required to finalize the combined mid-term review and regional portfolio performance review of the RISP for West Africa 2020-2025 with a view to its presentation to the Bank's Boards on 31 October 2023.
Participants in the consultation mission will include high-ranking officials from the African Development Bank, the ECOWAS Commission, regional experts, development partners, and other key stakeholders.
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