Abidjan, 31st January 2020. The Regional Technical Committee (RTC) has validated the ECOWAS Regional Cyber Security and Cybercrime strategy on the 31st of January 2020 in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.

The validation came after a Two-Day Workshop during which the Committee put together by the ECOWAS Commission, reviewed the tenets of the document.

Speaking during the Workshop, the ECOWAS Resident Representative to Cote d’Ivoire, Amb Babacar Carlos Mbaye stated that the availability of the regional strategy is a significant progress towards the Commission’s goal of creating a secure digital common market for the growth and socio-economic development of the Region.

He commended the RTC members for their commitment to the development of a regional strategy while stressing the importance of a collective approach in securing the ECOWAS cyberspace due to the proliferation of cyber-attacks, their increasing sophistication and unprecedented damage to the economies of ECOWAS Member States.

The representative from the European Union (EU) Delegation to Cote d’Ivoire, Ms Anne-Catherine Claude noted that the EU, had over the years, supported numerous initiatives at the national and regional levels to combat organised crime and trafficking.

According to her, the list of cybercrime threats was growing with many countries on the continent failing to protect themselves. She therefore emphasised the need to strengthen the cyber security capabilities of Member States in order to deal with the growing threats posed by cybercrime.

Ms Claude reiterated the importance of the involvement all Member States to ensure that once validated, the regional strategy will be adapted to the national framework of respective governments so that the achievements of economic development are preserved, in a secure environment for future generations.

The Abidjan Workshop under the auspices of the ongoing implementation of the ‘Organised Crime: West African Response on Cyber security and fight against Cybercrime’ (OCWAR-C) project is being supported by the EU and implemented by Expertise France.

The validated regional strategy will be presented to the ECOWAS Ministers in charge of Telecommunication/ICT for adoption.