Abuja, Nigeria, June 29, 2022 – The UNDP Africa Borderlands Centre (ABC), in collaboration with ECOWAS, will host a partnership dialogue to deepen collaboration on development in West Africa. The dialogue, slated for July 4–5, will bring together participants drawn from the ECOWAS Commission and UNDP entities, including the Regional Service Centre for Africa (RSCA), the West and Central Africa (WACA) Hub and the Africa Borderlands Centre (ABC).

With the theme “ Enhancing ECOWAS-UNDP Synergy for Regional Integration and Promoting Socio-Economic Opportunities in West Africa’s Borderlands “, the dialogue will facilitate exchanges on critical socio-economic, security, and political dynamics in West Africa and highlight the lessons learnt from existing ECOWAS and UNDP interventions around four thematic areas: Stabilization, SALW, and Regional Security; Cross-Border Trade/ Borderlands Development; Mediation & Political Transitions and Gender, Youth and Cross-Cutting Engagements.

The two-day event will engage experts from UNDP and ECOWAS to improve collective understanding of the opportunities and entry points for joint programming by ECOWAS and UNDP in West Africa’s borderlands and agree on the next steps and timelines for developing a series of ECOWAS-UNDP programmes in critical areas of socio-economic development.

The event will host a series of technical sessions, presentations, and interactive discussions by ECOWAS and UNDP participants. The technical sessions will undertake exhaustive discussions on opportunities for future collaboration and map out practical areas of engagement, and timelines for formulating joint programmes.

“The ECOWAS-UNDP Partnership Dialogue will be an opportunity to share the work of the ECOWAS Commission and UNDP, with a particular focus of the work of the UNDP Africa Borderlands Centre, to discuss the challenges, dynamics, and opportunities in the borderlands to enable the development of joint programming in areas like trade, peace, social cohesion, and innovation,” ABC Team Lead and Senior Technical Adviser, Zeynu Ummer, said.

Key speakers will include, Stan Nkwain, Director, UNDP Regional Service Centre for Africa, Mohammed Yahya, UNDP Resident Representative in Nigeria, the Vice President of the ECOWAS Commission, ECOWAS Commissioners, Directors and Technical Staff; the Ambassador, Njoya Tikum, Manager, UNDP WACA Hub, Jide Okeke, Coordinator, UNDP Regional Programme for Africa; and Zeynu Ummer, Team Lead of ABC.

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About the Africa Borderlands Center

The Africa Borderlands Centre is a flagship project of UNDP committed to enhancing opportunities for people living in Africa’s borderlands. The centre offers specialized, expert knowledge and technical advice to enable the better design, implementation, and adaptation of development programmes for border regions across Africa. It is an expert source of information and knowledge that helps national governments, intergovernmental agencies, UNDP country offices, UN agencies, development partners, and other key stakeholders.

About ECOWAS

The ECOWAS Commission promotes cooperation and integration among 15 member-states in West Africa. It aims to establish an economic union anchored on inclusive development, economic stability, peaceful relations within and among its member states, and overall harmonious development in continental Africa.