Abuja, August 10, 2022 – The ECOWAS Commission Leadership led by H. E Dr. Omar Alieu Touray has held its first meeting with the ECOWAS Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC) comprising of Ambassadors of All Member States in Abuja, today, August 10, 2022, at the ECOWAS Commission Headquarters in Abuja.

While welcoming the Members of the PRC, H.E Dr. Omar Alieu Touray, President of the ECOWAS Commission, stated that Community goals cannot be achieved without the cooperation with the Permanent Representatives which was why they are one of the levels at which the Mediation and Security Council (MSC) operates. He expressed profound gratitude to the ambassadors for their great contributions to ECOWAS over the years. He added that the Authority of Heads of States and Government in July 2020 in the adopted Supplementary Act charged Permanent Representatives with greater responsibilities beyond consideration of matters of sub-regional peace and security.

President Touray highlighted that the theme for his management is “Towards Shared Prosperity”. He promised to undertake streamlined initiatives that will deepen integration, strengthen peace and security, promote sustainable productivity and inclusive development, entrench good governance and foster equitable partnerships.

He stressed the importance of building stronger institutions which will include careful re-evaluation and implementation of institutional reforms that have long been planned but remain uncompleted. The decision to consider the PRC as an advisory organ of the Council as directed by the Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers, he said, will be given priority.

The Chair of the ECOWAS Permanent Representative (PRC), H. E João Ribeiro Butiam Co, the Ambassador of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau to the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Permanent Representative to ECOWAS, whose speech was delivered by H. E Professor Al-Hassan Conteh, the Ambassador of the Republic of Liberia, appreciated the ECOWAS leadership for the invitation to the meeting and expressed their esteemed and best wishes to them towards a successful tenure.

He said that PRC is looking forward to working with the new ECOWAS management and reaffirmed their willingness to collaborate on the challenges of implementing institutional reforms and achieving political stability in the sub-region. He reminded the President of the decision of the Ordinary Session of the Council of Ministers to set up a committee of Member States to consider the modalities of establishing the PRC as an advisory organ of the Council. He opined that there is an urgent need to hold a retreat this year between the new ECOWAS management and the PRC as recommended by the last PRC retreat held in Lagos.

The meeting attended by the Vice-President of the ECOWAS Commission, H. E Damtien L. Tchintchibidja, Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, Mme Massandjé Toure-Litse, Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy and Digitalisation, Mr. Sédiko Douka and Prof. Fatou Sarr Sow, Commissioner for Human Development and Social Affairs, as well as Directors from the ECOWAS Commission.