MONROVIA, April 1(LINA) - The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI) are expected to begin talks n Accra, Ghana on Monday to strengthen partnership between the two bodies.
The Vice President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Toga Gayewea McIntosh, will head a six-man technical delegation to the discussions.
During the two-day event, the two institutions will seek ways and means to build the capacity of the civil society organizations (CSOs) in the implementation of the ECOWAS Commission Strategic Document and also sign a Memorandum of Agreement on areas of collaboration.
As part of the planned activities, the CSOs will engage the ECOWAS Vice President in an interactive discussion which to a large extent, will deepen their knowledge and understanding of ECOWAS Community, particularly, since the organization is set to celebrate its 40thAnniversary in May this year.
Earlier this year, the Executive Director of WACSI, Nana Asantewa Afadzinu, led a technical team to Abuja, Nigeria at which time, ECOWAS and WACSI held a wide range of discussions, identified and agreed on several areas of collaboration.
EOWAS is a sub-continental group of West African States. It was set up in May 1975 through the Lagos Treaty now revised, to essentially promote economic cooperation and integration leading to establishment of an economic union in West Africa.
With headquarters located in Abuja, Nigeria, ECOWAS is composed of 15 States, including Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau.
Others are Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.
In January 2007, ECOWAS was transformed from a Secretariat into a Commission headed by the President, assisted by a Vice President and 13 Commissioners who are presently providing leadership for the organization.
The Republic of Ghana is the current Chair of Authority.
LINA