The ECOWAS Commission, through the Directorate of Free Movement and Migration will host a World Bank delegation to discuss and review the implementation of the WURI project on 23^rd and 24^th May 2022. The World Bank conducts missions twice yearly in support of its funded projects. This consultative mission will seek to review the status of implementation of the WURI project and deliberate on the measures for accelerating project implementation.

Besides addressing the programmatic and operational matters of the WURI project, in recognition of the broader digital identification initiative, the meeting will deliberate on the Commission’s level of exchange and engagement with the African Union on the continental digital identity interoperability framework and explore mechanisms for establishing points of intercept between the regional and continental agendas especially around cyber security.

The WURI project is a joint ECOWAS-World Bank partnership implementing a Multiphase Adaptive Programme having as objective to increase the number of persons in participating Member States who have government-recognized proof of unique identity that enables access to services. Through a Financing Agreement endorsed in 2018 by the International Development Association and the Commission, the Commission’s role in this programme is to enhance and foster inter-agency collaboration and strengthen regional engagement across the ECOWAS Member States with the aim of achieving the mutual recognition of foundational ID systems. The programme is implemented in phases with Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, and the Commission (phase 1) and Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Togo (phase 2) leading the process.