The President of the ECOWAS Commission, H.E. Dr. Omar Alieu Touray, is leading the ECOWAS Commission’s delegation to the 2024 Summit of the Forum of China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), held in Beijing from September 2 to 6, 2024. Accompanied by Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy and Digitalisation Mr. Sédiko Douka and Director of External Relations Mr. Jerome Boa, Dr. Touray attended the 9th Ministerial Conference of FOCAC on September 3.
The ministerial session reviewed the implementation progress of nine priority areas outlined in the 2021 FOCAC Action Plan and endorsed a draft Beijing Declaration along with a new Action Plan. Ministers from nearly all African countries participated alongside their Chinese counterparts. Several African leaders, including President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Nigeria and Chair of ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, have arrived in Beijing to address the summit. The summit is expected to focus on various areas such as governance, industrialization, peace and security, and infrastructure development.
The 2024 Summit marks a return after a six-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic and follows three years after the last ministerial conference held in Dakar, Senegal in November 2021. Established for equal consultation between Africa and China, FOCAC aims to enhance understanding, expand consensus, strengthen friendship, and promote cooperation. The first ministerial conference was held in Beijing in October 2000 with subsequent conferences every three years.
Since its inception in 2002, FOCAC has maintained an operational three-level follow-up mechanism involving Senior Officials Meetings (SOM), African Diplomatic Corps meetings with Chinese Foreign Ministry officials (ADC), and regular Secretariat meetings at both sides’ follow-up committees for evaluations.
To meet expanding needs in China-Africa relations, both the third Ministerial Conference (November 2006) and sixth Ministerial Conference (December 2015) were upgraded to summits held respectively in Beijing and Johannesburg. This was followed by another summit in Beijing in 2018.
Within FOCAC’s framework, various sub-forums have been established including: China-Africa People’s Forum; China-Africa Young Leaders Forum; Ministerial Forum on China-Africa Health Cooperation; Forum on China-Africa Media Cooperation; China-Africa Poverty Reduction and Development Conference; FOCAC-Legal Forum; Forum on China-Africa Local Government Cooperation; and China-Africa Think Tanks Forum.
At the conclusion of the 2024 Summit two outcome documents are anticipated: a Declaration and an Action Plan aimed at implementing high-quality China-Africa cooperation over the next three years.
