The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Omar Alieu Touray, met with the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Amina Mohammed, on January 10, 2025, in Abuja, Nigeria. The meeting aimed to strengthen bilateral ties between ECOWAS and the UN.
During their discussions, they identified key areas for deepened engagement: political cooperation, peace and security, trade liberalization, education, regional integration and cohesion, as well as human development. President Touray emphasized that counter-terrorism is a critical area for collaboration due to the current political climate in West Africa. He assured that efforts are being made to ensure that UN Security Council Resolution 2719 on funding the AU peace and security budget remains effective.
Touray also updated Mohammed on ECOWAS’s response to Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger’s decision to withdraw from the regional bloc. They briefly discussed both immediate and long-term implications of this move on trade relations.
Deputy Secretary-General Mohammed addressed various cross-cutting issues related to UN engagement mandates such as financial systems architecture and improving investment environments. She highlighted gaps in human development between policy and regulations and stressed upgrading the energy sector for small and medium enterprises.
The meeting included other ECOWAS officials like Dr. Tony Elumelu (Director Free Movement), Dr. Kola Fofola (Trade counterpart), Dr. Sani Adamu (Head of Peace Support Operations Division), and Dr. Babatunde Idowu (Directorate of External Relations). They provided updates on community integration strides including progress with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA).
In a joint briefing at the end of their discussions, President Touray highlighted building on longstanding relationships with UN agencies: “These areas that we have mentioned such as peace and security, humanitarian economic development… We must put a lot of emphasis on human development education agriculture including food security.”
DSG Mohammed stated: “With the visit we see what priorities are how we can consolidate work done together last year… It has been a thorough discussion opportunities continue working together.”
This meeting marked DSG Amina Mohammed’s first high-level visit to ECOWAS Commission in 2025.
