ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States : Experts from ECOWAS and UEMOA Commissions and Member States meet at ACCRA as part of the programming of the new European Union (EU) cooperation instrument

Experts from ECOWAS and UEMOA Commissions and Member States meet at ACCRA as part of the programming of the new European Union (EU) cooperation instrument 10/10/2021Harouna MAYAKI

Oct. 7, 2021, Accra, Ghana

The objective of this workshop which takes place from October 7 to 9, 2021, is to update and harmonize a list of West African regional projects / initiatives, ready to be financed, responding to emerging needs and to the defined criteria of the Neighborhood Instrument for Development Cooperation and EU International Cooperation -IVCDCI / NDICI.

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Organised by the ECOWAS & UEMOA Commissions, this workshop attracted the participation of Experts from National Authorizing Officers of the European Development Fund in ECOWAS Member States, UEMOA and UEMOA Commissions and their Institutions specialists, WAPP, as well as the ECOWAS Investment and Development Bank (EBID) and the West African Development Bank (BOAD).

The new Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (IVCDCI / NDICI) replaces the previous instruments, including the European Development Fund (EDF) and covers the period 2021-2027.

The workshop aims in particular to ensure better consistency and complementarity of regional and national actions as part of the NDICI programming, identification and formulation exercise, from which West Africa will benefit of an envelope of more than € 11.6 billion, or 40% of the total envelope allocated to sub-Saharan Africa.

Speaking on behalf of the President of the ECOWAS Commission, HE Mr. Jean Claude Kassi BROU, Mr. Jerome BOA, Acting Director of External Relations of the ECOWAS Commission first thanked the senior Ghanaian authorities for this welcome and declared that " this meeting is part of the inclusive and participatory approach that the ECOWAS and UEMOA committees have put in place with a view to adopting a common position for the management of partnerships , in particular with the EU for the coordinated and integrated programming and implementation of national and regional programmes ". Before concluding his remarks, he thanked the European Union, on behalf of the two Commissions, for its constant support in the implementation of the regional integration agenda.

The Director of Cooperation of the UEMOA Commission, Mr. Albert RABIOU, speaking on behalf of UEMOA welcomed the opportunity of the meeting and specified that this process of regional consultation between the Member States of ECOWAS and UEMOA will continue throughout the cycle of priority projects identified by the region. He further added that this exercise requires the involvement of national experts who should help identify and formulate the priority needs of the region within the framework of NDI-CI.

The Representative of ECOWAS to the European Union, Dr. Jonas Hemou, while appreciating the organization of this workshop and the quality of the participants, in turn noted that the meeting should make it possible to have an inventory. in ECOWAS and UEMOA member states with a view to facilitating synergies between the regional and national levels within the framework of the implementation of NDICI.

He estimated that this partnership is changing, with new challenges on multilateralism, on the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and on the renewal of a more global cooperation between the EU and OACP, which defines the Neighborhood Instrument.

The workshop also noted the participation of the representative of UEMOA to the European Union Mr. Assoukou Raymond Krikpeu who in his intervention considered that this workshop which is part of the new form of cooperation between the Union European Union and West Africa will promote the success of NDICI Programming. He further presented NDICI as the successor to the European Development Fund (EDF). Therefore, according to him, the member states through this workshop must consult and agree on the priority projects to be submitted to the European Union.

The Multiannual Indicative Program for Sub-Saharan Africa (Regional PIP) covers EU cooperation with Sub-Saharan Africa and reflects the guiding principles of NDICI - Global Europe of, 'simplification', 'subsidiarity', 'geographisation' and ' politics first". Actions are envisaged at three levels: country, multi-country / (sub-) regional / trans-regional and continental. In defining regional programming priorities, the country dimension is the starting point. Thus, the priorities of the regional PIP are now anchored in the priorities established in the national PIPs, which in turn are complemented by actions articulated at the regional or continental level.

This workshop will ultimately facilitate and finalise the selection process of ECOWAS-UEMOA regional priority projects / initiatives to be submitted for funding.

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