Germany has announced a new financial and technical cooperation agreement with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to support the regional bloc in addressing various challenges, including economic recovery, security threats, and climate change.
The German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, made the announcement during his visit to Abuja, Nigeria, on Sunday, where he met with the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Alieu Touray. The agreement covers the period of 2023-2024 and amounts to €81 million, bringing Germany’s total support to ECOWAS to €500 million over the last decade.
According to a press release from the ECOWAS Commission, the agreement focuses on four thematic areas: peaceful and inclusive societies; climate and energy transition; sustainable economic development, training, and employment; and health, social protection, and population policy.
Scholz said Germany was committed to strengthening its partnership with ECOWAS and supporting the region’s efforts to achieve peace, stability, democracy, and prosperity. He also expressed Germany’s solidarity with ECOWAS in its condemnation of military coups and its promotion of constitutional transitions in the region.
Dr. Touray thanked Germany for its generous and consistent support of ECOWAS and highlighted some of the achievements and challenges of the regional integration process. He said that ECOWAS was working on several initiatives to enhance regional infrastructure, energy supply, trade facilitation, health systems, and pandemic prevention.
He also mentioned a plan to establish a network connecting electricity production centers throughout West Africa, with a central hub located in Cotonou, Republic of Benin. This initiative aims to provide West African nations with electricity from more cost-effective sources, ultimately resulting in cheaper electricity within the ECOWAS bloc.
The agreement between Germany and ECOWAS comes at a time when the region is facing multiple crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, terrorism, violent extremism, political instability, food insecurity, and environmental degradation. According to the World Bank, the economic growth rate of West Africa declined from 3.7% in 2019 to -1.5% in 2020 due to the impact of the pandemic and other shocks.
The agreement also coincides with celebrating the 50th anniversary of ECOWAS, established on May 28, 1975, with the signing of the Treaty of Lagos by 15 West African countries. Since then, ECOWAS has expanded its membership to 16 countries (including Mauritania) and has become one of the most active and influential regional organizations in Africa.
The cooperation between Germany and ECOWAS reflects the strong ties between Europe and Africa and the shared vision of building a more peaceful, prosperous, and sustainable future for both continents. As Scholz said in his speech at the ECOWAS headquarters, “We are neighbors in one world. We have common interests and common values. And we have common challenges that we can only overcome together.”
Source: Nairametrics
