Abuja, 27th June 2019. The Chair of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers and the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria, Ambassador Mustapha L. Suleiman stressed the need for collective action from Member States to meet the challenging development needs of the sub-region

He made this statement at the closing ceremony of the 82nd Ordinary Session of the Council of Ministers on the 27th of June 2019 in Abuja, Nigeria.

In order to achieve this, Ambassador Suleiman urged Member States to honour their commitments to the Institution to enable it deliver on its mandate to the Community.

The Chair ended his remarks by congratulating all the participants for their frank contributions and the friendly spirit that persisted throughout the deliberations at the Session. He further, thanked the Council of Members as well at the ECOWAS Commission and other Community Institutions for the cooperation received.

The Council considered memoranda on the hosting of the Headquarters of the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor, the award of the 2018 ECOWAS Prize of Excellence, the ECOWAS Human Capital Development Strategy and High-Level dialogue on human capital development in West Africa, among others.

Recommendations from the Council of Ministers will be presented at the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government Summit that will take place in Abuja, Nigeria on the 29th of June 2019.