Bamako, 17 September 2019: The Steering and Monitoring Committee of the National Early Warning and Response Mechanism in Mali held its first meeting on 17 September 2019 in Bamako. The meeting was chaired by H.E. Mr Boubou Cisse, Prime Minister of the Republic of Mali. The ECOWAS Commission’s delegation was led by Vice President Finda Koroma, and comprised the Commissioner for Industry and Private Sector Promotion, Mamadou Traore, the ECOWAS Resident Representative to Mali, Prof Hamidou Boly and the Director of Early Warning, Mr Lat Gueye.

The objective of the first meeting of the Monitoring and Steering Committee was to set out the institutional framework of the body, and approve its programme of activities and operating budget for 2020.

In her statement, the Vice President, on behalf of the Commission President, H.E. Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, stressed the importance of the Early Warning Mechanism for the ECOWAS Commission and reaffirmed the organisation’s support for the efforts of the region’s Heads of State to curb the threats to human security. She hoped that, in the end, ECOWAS would rely on a network of national centres that are adequately equipped to prevent and tackle the threats, and even mitigate them to better address insecurity challenges in the region. H.E. Mrs Finda Koroma also reiterated the ECOWAS Commission’s commitment to supporting Member States in ensuring peace and security in the region, through a robust early warning mechanism.

Thereafter, the Prime Minister welcomed the establishment of the Early Warning and Response Mechanism in Mali and thanked ECOWAS for its continued support. He emphasised the importance of this tool at national and regional levels and its contribution to strengthening Member States’ capacity in crisis prevention and management. Dr Boubou Cisse also encouraged the National Early Warning Centre to develop a framework for collaboration with other state institutions, local authorities and civil society organisations in information gathering, analysis and dissemination. He particularly urged the National Early Warning Centre to mobilise resources from financial partners and build technical partnerships.

The meeting was attended by several Malian ministers, members of the National Early Warning Mechanism Committee, made up of Ministers of Defence, Health, African Integration, Environment, Institutional Reform, and the Secretary General of the Government.

Mali’s National Early Warning Centre is the first national centre to be established at the regional level. It was officially launched on 14 October 2017 by H.E. Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, President of the Republic of Mali, in the presence of H.E. Faure Gnassingbe, President of the Togolese Republic, then Chair of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government.

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