The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has urged its Member States to strengthen financial transparency and resilience as part of efforts to establish a robust regional counterterrorism framework.
The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Oumar Alieu Touray, made the call at the 54th Ordinary Session of the Mediation and Security Council (MSC) at the Ministerial Level, held in Abuja, Nigeria.
Dr. Touray explained that, at a time when the region is facing various challenges, the need for a more robust framework to combat terrorism is critical.
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“No littoral State is safe from the onslaught of terrorist groups, particularly in the absence of a regional framework for intelligence sharing and a regional kinetic force. Meanwhile, the request by Member States to assess the impact of our proposed fund mobilisation strategy for financing the activation of the regional counterterrorism force on their economies has delayed the process. We, therefore, respectfully crave the indulgence of this august body to critically examine this matter by considering the potential and actual cost of inaction in countering the terrorist menace — both on our economies and the wellbeing of our citizens.”
According to Dr. Touray, the region remains vulnerable to terrorist attacks due to the lack of implementation of a regional counterterrorism framework. He therefore urged Member States to remain united.
“The multipolarity of the world presents a huge challenge to our integration agenda. We are currently facing geostrategic and geopolitical interferences in our region. We must, therefore, stay united and handle this development with great care. We take note of the sustained commitment you have continuously demonstrated in your respective States for the good of the Community, especially in light of the evolving challenges confronting the region. This will go a long way in contributing to the realization of the ECOWAS vision: a unified, peaceful, democratic, prosperous, and stable West Africa for the benefit of all segments of our regional community,” he said.
The ECOWAS Commission President also highlighted some of the progress made by the bloc in strengthening the region’s peace and security architecture.
“We are making progress in strengthening the regional peace and security architecture. We have initiated direct talks aimed at safeguarding the Community’s achievements and building realistic, fruitful future cooperation in various areas, including security and development. In this regard, we will be presenting to you memoranda on the ECOWAS Standby Force Logistics Concept and the ECOWAS Logistics Depot Policies; the Supplementary Act relating to the West African Police Information System (WAPIS) Regional Platform; updates on the establishment of National Early Warning and Response Centres; responses to the humanitarian situation in the region; as well as the implementation of measures against money laundering and the financing of terrorism,” he added.
On his part, Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chair of the ECOWAS Mediation and Security Council, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, emphasised the need for Member States to uphold their responsibility in protecting the region across all sectors as they strengthen peace and security responses.
“As illicit financial flows, money laundering, and terrorism financing continue to threaten our collective security, the ECOWAS region has greatly benefited from the foresight demonstrated in the establishment of the Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) some decades ago. Therefore, we must reaffirm our commitment to enhancing financial transparency and resilience,” he stressed.
Ambassador Tuggar also expressed deep concern over the U.S. government’s plan to impose visa restrictions on all ECOWAS Member States. He lamented that such a move would pose a serious threat to trade, diplomacy, and regional development.
“This would be most unfortunate if it comes to pass, because we are a region of opportunities, ready to do deals. We would like to do deals with the U.S., but visa restrictions are non-tariff barriers to deals,” he said.
Tuggar, however, urged the U.S. to reconsider its approach, stressing that ECOWAS nations remain open to global partnerships and are ready to engage with any country that allows for ease of travel for legitimate business and diplomatic purposes.
Members were charged to deliberate with the spirit of collaboration, commitment, and determination that has long defined the Council.