Ghana will from Tuesday 15th June to Saturday 19th June 2021, host the mid-year statutory meetings of the Economic Community of West African State (ECOWAS).
Ghana’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, who announced this at a press conference in Accra on Monday, June 14, 2021, said the meetings will be held for 5 days continuously.
Providing details on the schedule for the meetings, the Minister said the 46th Ordinary Meeting of the ECOWAS Mediation and Security Council at the Ministerial Level will be held on Tuesday, 15th June 2021, followed by the 86th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers on 16th to 17th June 2021, then the 59th Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government will take place on Saturday 19th June 2021,
She said: “the sessions being held this week follows the 29th Ordinary Session of the Administration and Finance Committee, whose outcomes will inform the work of the Council of Ministers. The Administration and Finance Committee is made up of experts from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Finance of the ECOWAS Member States, who met at the Alisa Hotel from 8th to 12th June 2021.
“In line with the practice of ECOWAS, the Sessions this week will deliberate on important regional matters germane to our community, including recent political and security developments that have threatened the peace and stability in our region,” she added.
The agenda for the sessions she said will focus on the progress of ECOWAS Institutional Reforms; ECOWAS Vision 2050; the Status of Tasks assigned by the 85th Ordinary Session of the Council of Ministers; the ECOWAS African Research and Innovation Forum (FARI); as well as the Humanitarian situation in our region, among others.
It is expected that all Heads of State and the Government of ECOWAS, except for Mali, will participate in the summit with the President, Vice President, and support staff of the Commission already in Accra ahead of the meetings.
Other guests include the former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and ECOWAS Special Envoy and Mediator for Mali, H.E. Goodluck Jonathan.