During the 23rd bilateral ministerial dialogue in Brussels on Monday 6 February (see EUROPE 13115/8), the EU and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) reaffirmed their commitment to regional and international peace and security and to deepening the regional integration process in West Africa.
The dialogue was co-chaired by the EU High Representative, Josep Borrell, and the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Guinea-Bissau, Suzi Carla Barbosa, who also chairs the ECOWAS Council of Ministers.
The two sides agreed to further strengthen their cooperation in a spirit of equal partnership with a view to providing sustainable solutions to security, political, economic, humanitarian and environmental challenges in order to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Agenda 2063 of the AU, and the ECOWAS Vision 2050, according to the joint statement issued on Monday evening by the European External Action Service.
The EU and ECOWAS expressed deep concern about the negative impact of global crises, including the Covid-19 pandemic and climate change. They noted that the war in Ukraine had further negatively affected the economies of Europe and West Africa.
They also called for a return to constitutional order in Mali (March 2024), Burkina Faso (July 2024) and Guinea (December 2024).
For the 2023 general elections in Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Liberia, the EU and ECOWAS intend to work together, including through their election observation missions, to ensure peaceful, transparent, inclusive and credible electoral processes.
The joint statement covers a wide range of areas, including peace and security in West Africa, migration and mobility, food insecurity, infrastructure investments by the EU and its Member States under the ‘Global Gateway’, regional integration and trade, green growth, energy and digitalisation.
See the text: https://aeur.eu/f/58o (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)