Abidjan, 3 May 2019. Ivorian Senior Minister and Minister of Defence, Hamed Bakayoko, urged members of Cote d’Ivoire’s Statutory Council of the National Coordination Centre for the Coordination of Early Warning and Response Mechanism (CNCMR) to galvanise the body and ensure that it is in line with the political and security agenda of Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara, which is to transform Cote d’Ivoire into a stable, peaceful and prosperous nation.

He made the call on behalf of Prime Minister, Amadou Gon Coulibaly, on 29 April 2019, in the Ivorian administrative capital, during the official induction of CNCMR council members. The event was attended by several Ivorian dignitaries, including the Minister of Interior and Security, the Minister of Justice and Human Rights, and the Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs.

Hamed Bakayoko took the opportunity to express his appreciation to ECOWAS and the US government for the initiative, which he believes would contribute to enhancing sub-regional peace and security in a context characterised by multiple threats, through the operationalisation of the CNCMR.

He recalled that the CNCMR is a framework for sharing information and intelligence with all national security agencies.

He called on staff of Cote d’Ivoire’s CNCMR to identify all sources of threats and violence in order to prevent crises using reliable analytical tools, and also urged Statutory Council members to ensure the smooth functioning of the Centre in keeping with their mandate.

Minister Bakayoko also reaffirmed the Ivorian government’s commitment to strive, with the support of partners, to ensure the optimal functioning of the CNCMR.

Taking the floor, ECOWAS Commission Vice President, Mrs Finda Koroma conveyed the regional organisation’s gratitude to President Ouattara, for his commitment to the integration of people, and commended the efforts of the Ivorian Prime Minister for the effective operationalisation of the CNCMR.

The representative of the ECOWAS Commission President, Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, noted that the CNCMRs are regarded as an instrument of regional solidarity to address emerging crises, and recalled that the Centres are focused on several human security issues such as security, governance, crime, health and the environment.

Mrs Finda Koroma further stated that, following a decision by the Commission President, funding had been made available for the payment of staff salary arrears and operating costs of Cote d’Ivoire’s CNCMR.

She attended the ceremony along with the ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, General Francis Awagbè Béhanzin, the ECOWAS Resident Representative to Cote d’Ivoire, Ambassador Babacar Carlos Mbaye, and the Director of Early Warning, Dr Abdou Lat Gueye.

It is recalled that Cote d’Ivoire is one of the five (5) pilot countries for the implementation of CNCMRs in the ECOWAS region, in addition to Burkina Faso, Guinea Bissau, Liberia and Mali.