Sal Island - Cape Verde — ECOWAS Leaders have ended their 38th ordinary summit in Sal, Cape Verde with a call on Member States to sustain their efforts towards consolidating the gains recorded in 2010 with the revival of their economies which was adversely affected by the global financial, economic and food crises.
After reviewing the regional economic performance at the end of the one-day summit, they said this should be done through "strengthening economic reforms, acceleration of macro-economic convergence' and domesticating regional programmes". On the on-going negotiations of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between ECOWAS and the European Union, the Heads of State and Government urged the negotiators of the two regions to agree on a formula for tariff dismantling based on a 70 per cent opening of the region's market in order to safeguard the region's development. In addition, they called for the mobilization of additional resources to complement the 6.5 billion Euros pledged by the European Union to finance the EPA Development Programme (EPADP), a programme that will enable the region cope with the adjustment costs of implementing the impending EPA.
In the areas of regional peace and security, they commended the progress made in some Member States with democratic consolidation but expressed concern at the fragility of the democratic processes in some others. In the case of Guinea Bissau, they reaffirmed their solidarity with President Bacai Sanha and urged him to create the appropriate environment that will enable ECOWAS resume its efforts to mobilize partners to support the country in reforming its security sector. Furthermore, they urged the ECOWAS Commission to begin the process for the establishment of a mechanism to ensure the safety of republican institutions.
On Niger, they agreed that the country, which is under suspension, could attend meetings of the organization as observer at the ministerial level. In order to address the drug challenge in the region, the leaders urged the Commission to explore with the European Union and relevant technical partners, collective measures for the speedy implementation of the ECOWAS Regional Action Plan on drug trafficking, organized crime and drug abuse. Moreover, they called for the holding of an international donors' conference in the second half of 2010 to mobilize the resources to undertake these reforms and pursue the socio-economic development of the country. On Cote d'Ivoire, the Heads of State and Government stressed the need for credible, free and transparent elections to be held by the end of 2010 and urged the government to set a clear date in this regard, preceded by the expeditious completion of the voters' register consistent with the provisions of the Ouagadougou political agreement and supplementary agreements.
In order to consolidate the progress made with the reunification of the country and guarantee safe elections, they urged all armed groups involved with the Disarmament Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) programme to comply with the provisions of the relevant agreements relating to this aspect of the peace process . The leaders also set up a five-member ministerial committee of Cape Verde, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal to propose the modalities for a rotational system for the allocation of statutory positions in Community institutions. Such a system, they said, should accord priority to alphabetical order, transparency, equity and predictability. During the opening ceremony, the summit swore into office, His Excellency, James Victor Gbeho, as the new President of the ECOWAS Commission. President Gbeho promised to serve the organization with loyalty, commitment and dedication.
