Accra, Aug. 19, GNA – A regional committee of private sector experts and ECOWAS partners has agreed on a road map for the launch of the ECOWAS Business Council (EBC) on the the margin of the end-of-year statutory meetings of the Community.
The third meeting of the technical working group of the ECOWAS Business Council proposed the five-month road map after its three-day meeting in Abuja.
The proposed launch of the Council, whose revised statutes were adopted by the ECOWAS Council of Ministers at their June 2021 meeting in Accra, is also consistent with the 4×4 strategic objectives of ECOWAS which seeks to deepen regional integration and promote inclusive and sustainable development consistent with the ECOWAS vision of a citizen-driven Community through the active participation of the private sector.
Ahead of the launch, it is envisaged that preparatory activities will include the inauguration of a Local Organizing Committee (LOC) to coordinate the launch process, the development of strategic documents and the recruitment of an Executive Secretary, who will serve as the Chief Executive of the Council.
The 24-member EBC is expected to serve as the apex body that will not only articulate the interests of the businesses in the region but provide a platform for inclusion of this sector in the policy dialogue required to boost intra and inter regional business activities that will facilitate continental integration consistent with the objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
“The goal of the EBC is to create an ECOWAS business Community that is globally competitive, regionally integrated and capable of leading the process for the emergence of West Africa as a preferred investment destination globally with a high standard of living,” according to one of the working documents of the just concluded meeting.
Members of the Council were nominated by Member States following a call for applications launched in coordination with the Ministers in charge of the Private Sector in the Member States during which 29 applications were received.
Eight of them were recommended by the technical working group during its meeting of December 2023 using the validated criteria.
The composition of the Council was one of the issues on the agenda of the meeting which also considered the steps for the inauguration of the EBC as well as steps towards its operationalization.
At the opening of the meeting, the ECOWAS Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, Mrs Massandje Toure-Litse, emphasized the need for an inclusive Council that is reflective of the diverse businesses in the region for greater impact.
The message was delivered by the Director of Private Sector of the Commission, Dr. Tony Elumelu.
The meeting of the working group was also attended by the representatives of the German Development Agency, GIZ, the Geneva-based International Trade Centre (ITC), and the Federation of West African Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FEWACCI) which is based in Abuja.
When the EBC becomes operational, West Africa will add to the number of business councils in Africa’s Regional Economic Communities (REC’s).
GNA