Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has urged ECOWAS nations to deepen {economic} cooperation and help intra-regional commerce, emphasizing that the African Continental Free Commerce Space (AfCFTA) should function a catalyst for real transformation throughout the area.
His remarks reinforce the necessity for West African international locations to prioritize {economic} integration, training, innovation, and talent improvement to completely unlock the continent’s future potential.
Talking on Tuesday in Accra, Ghana, in the course of the launch of a sequence of occasions commemorating ECOWAS’ Golden Jubilee, Tinubu, represented by Minister of State for Overseas Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu, outlined a imaginative and prescient of ECOWAS as a “Neighborhood of Folks” somewhat than only a group of states.
He urged member nations to embrace insurance policies that uplift residents, improve training programs, and foster better {economic} collaboration.
As Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Authorities, Tinubu praised the regional physique’s accomplishments, highlighting its contributions to commerce liberalization and its function in lifting thousands and thousands out of poverty.
“As we speak, we rejoice quite a few outstanding achievements that distinguish ECOWAS as probably the most profitable regional {economic} group on the African continent.
“In 5 a long time, we now have established one in every of Africa’s most vibrant free commerce areas, fostering intra-regional commerce and lifting thousands and thousands from poverty,” he acknowledged.
Regardless of notable successes, Tinubu acknowledged that ECOWAS has endured challenges, together with political instability, {economic} hardship, infrastructure deficits, and safety threats.
He emphasised that regardless of these obstacles, the area should stay dedicated to {economic} improvement, stability, and prosperity.
“Now we have confronted political instability, {economic} hardship, infrastructural deficits, and safety threats. However we stay undaunted. Regardless of our shared imaginative and prescient, too lots of our residents nonetheless stay in poverty, too lots of our youngsters lack entry to high quality training, and too lots of our youth stay unemployed, disillusioned, or pressured to hunt alternatives overseas,” Tinubu added.
As ECOWAS commemorates 50 years of {economic} and political cooperation, leaders are positioning AfCFTA as a cornerstone for prosperity, stressing the urgency of commerce harmonization, {economic} reforms, and collective resilience to navigate the following section of progress.
