By Emelia Nkrumah
Accra, June 20, GNA – The Economic Community for West African States (ECOWAS), European Union (EU) and the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) has held a two- day tripartite consultation mechanism.
It was for the programming and implementation of the EU’s Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI / Global Europe) 2021- 2027 in Accra.
The main objectives of the meeting was to take stock of the implementation of the NDICI, three years after its launch and to agree on recommendations aimed at improving the implementation and effective monitoring of the actions of the instrument in Africa.
It was also to discuss the methods of implementation, coordination and monitoring of the actions selected under the Multi-annual Indicative Programme (MIP) 2021-2027.
The meeting was attended by Irchaad Razaaly, Ambassador of the European Union to Ghana, Mr. Rabiou Albert Boura, Director of Cooperation of the WAEMU Commission, Mr. Jerome Kouassi Boa, Director External Relations of the ECOWAS Commission, among other stakeholders.
Speaking at the opening, of the second meeting, Ambassador Mr Irchaad Razaaly, said the tripartite mechanism had shown its effectiveness within the framework of the European Development Fund (EDF) and allowed the parties to strengthen their strategic partnership and the coherence, coordination and complementarity of actions around the implementation of the NDICI in the Region.
He said the meeting was also to take stock of the progress of the process of identifying and formulating programmes under the NDICI’s 2021, 2022 and 2023 annual / multi-annual action plans, and agree on key messages from the region to communicate within the framework of the EU-REC dialogue and in view of the next mid-term review of the NDICI.
Mr Razaaly, Ambassador of the European Union to Ghana, said the two-day meeting would provide participants with the opportunity to discuss ongoing initiatives at the regional and EU levels to identify development actions under the six priority areas of the NDICI.
He said “our priority areas are the core of all our operations.
Our initiative promotes stability, security, democratic transitioning, good governance and human rights.
We also support inclusive and sustainable growth, promote decent jobs and leverage digital transformation.”
“Again, we aim to strengthen cooperation on all aspects of migration mobility and forced displacement and address the root causes.
“We protect the environment and biodiversity and combat climate change.”
Mr Razaaly urged stakeholders to proceed to a deep analysis of the implementation of the project and flag out the achievements, challenges and recommendations to increase the level of performance of NDICI.
Mr Diego Escalona Paturel, Head of Cooperation EU Delegation to WAEMU, said there was the need to enhance cooperation and be more effective on the ground, contributing to regional integration and providing the best fashion to the population of the region.
“We need to find mechanisms to enhance the coordination of what we are doing, because we work in many development areas with transport, connectivity, peace and security.
“We also concluded that we need to find ways to be more efficient on the programme we deliver on the ground to the benefit of the populations of the region”.
GNA