Praia - Cape Verde — The President of the ECOWAS Commission, His Excellency Kadré Désiré Ouédraogo has hailed Cape Verde as a beacon of hope for democracy and a model judging by its successive transparent, free and fair elections. Exchanging views with the Minister of External Relations, Honourable Jorge Borges in the nation's capital Praia, the President also praised the country as an exemplar of economic development in the region and for its success in deploying information technology for citizen sensitisation and mobilisation.
The president equally used the opportunity of his first visit to Cape Verde, since his appointment last year by regional leaders to brief the minister on the six priorities of the administration.
These include the maintenance of regional peace and security so as to create a conducive environment for development and also to remove the obstacles hindering the smooth implementation of the regional Protocol on Free Movement of Persons. The ECOWAS chief also listed the improvement of regional infrastructure to boost investment in roads and energy in addition to addressing the challenges of the air transport sector as some of the other priorities of the administration.
The President, accompanied on the visit by three of the seven Commissioners of the institution, also said the new management team is tacking human resources development to equip the region's teeming youth with the capacity to realise their full potentials, food security, institutional reform and capacity building. He hailed as "positive," the evolving political situation in Mali hinting on the forthcoming meeting of the region's chief of defence staff in Abidjan to discuss the mechanism for the planned transformation of the African-led mission in the country into a UN mission.
President Ouédraogo also briefed the minister on the proposed meetings of officials of West and Central Africa next month in Yaounde, Cameroon to discuss cooperation in maritime security, which is a follow up to last week's meeting of ministers of both regions in Cotonou on the same subject. Minister Borges praised the new management of the Commission for pursuing priorities which are strategic to the realisation of the Community's integration programme. He said during the 21st March 2013 meeting that his country would also benefit from the ongoing programme by West and Central Africa to improve maritime security.
Also at his meeting with Cape Verde's Prime Minister Jose Maria Neves, President Ouédraogo commended the country for its remarkable transformation since his last visit in the 90's. The ECOWAS chief, who was in the country for the meetings of regional ministers of finance and trade, informed the Prime Minister of the historic adoption of the regional Common External Tariff (CET) by the ministers of finance during their meeting in Praia.
"We have arrived at the end of the process with the adoption of the CET," he said of the 10-year effort that led to the adoption after intensive consultations and conciliation among the Community's 15 Member States guided by the decision of regional leaders. The ECOWAS also exchanged similar sentiments when he visited the Cape Verde's President, His Excellency Jorge Carlos de Almeida Fonseca who in turn commended ECOWAS for its relentless effort to promote peace and security, as well as the integration of the regional economy.
