The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and Germany have begun reviewing regional stabilisation programmes in Guinea-Bissau, Benin and Togo, amid renewed efforts to strengthen security, political stability and sustainable development across West Africa.
The review featured prominently at the
11th Meeting of the Steering Committee of the Fund for Regional Stabilisation and Development (FRSD), held in Abuja, where the partners examined ongoing interventions and considered new strategies for sustaining the fund’s operations.
The meeting brought together representatives of ECOWAS, Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), which provides financial support to the fund, and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), its technical partner.
The session was co-chaired by the Vice-President of the ECOWAS Commission, Oluwatosin Anthony Ogunjimi, and the Head of the West Africa Division at BMZ, Stella Pfundt.
Participants also examined the proposed extension of Phase Two of the Technical Cooperation Window, alongside plans to strengthen the implementation structure of the Financial Cooperation Window.
Other issues considered included strategies for mobilising additional resources and plans to convene an FRSD Donors’ Round Table to attract further support for the fund’s activities.
The discussions provided an opportunity for the partners to assess the progress of existing programmes and determine priorities for the next phase of regional stabilisation and development initiatives.
The engagement underscores the continued financial and technical cooperation between ECOWAS and Germany in addressing development and stability challenges confronting countries across the West African sub-region.
