ECOWAS and OECD Launch Consultation Process for Regional Cooperation Plan

The Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have initiated a consultation process to define a regional cooperation plan. The meeting took place at the ECOWAS Commission headquarters on Tuesday 25 March 2025.

Several areas were discussed, including artificial intelligence, technologies for agricultural development, green energy, climate change, cooperation with economic and regional communities and institutional support, good governance, mediation and regional statistics, support to the private sector…

In his opening remarks, Mr. Carlos CONDE, Head of the Africa and Middle East Division at the OECD, expressed his enthusiasm for the launch of this new collaborative effort with the ECOWAS Commission, and reaffirmed the OECD's commitment to pursuing these areas of collaboration.

He highlighted the importance of addressing common challenges, such as climate change, technologies for agricultural development, and noted that a coordinated approach is neces-sary to achieve sustainable development.

Meanwhile, Mr. Jérôme BOA, Director of External Relations of the ECOWAS Commission, ac-companied by the Special Adviser on Economic and Financial Integration and Partnership to the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Mambury NJIE, warmly welcomed the OECD del-egation in his opening speech, underlining the importance of this new partnership.

He also stressed the need to establish a framework to facilitate cooperation between ECOWAS and the OECD, ensuring the involvement of all the departments concerned.

The consultation process marks the beginning of a new era of cooperation between ECOWAS and OECD, aimed at promoting economic development and regional integration.