The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission have held a four-day high-level consultation mission in Abuja at ECOWAS Headquarters.
The high-level mission to the ECOWAS Commission is part of the wider AfDB consultation mission to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which aimed at a combined mid-term review and regional portfolio performance review of the Regional Integration Strategy (RISP) for West Africa covering the period 2020–2025.
The RISP was approved by the Bank in May 2020, and provided the programmatic and financial framework to support regional integration efforts in the subregion, a working document made available to the Ghana News Agency has stated.
According to the document, the main objective of the AfDB mission was to assess, in consultation with relevant regional and national authorities and stakeholders, the progress made in implementing the West Africa RISP 2020–2025.
The mid-term review drew up an inventory of results achieved, and lessons learnt in the implementation of the West Africa RISP 2020–2025 and updated and enriched the Bank’s analyses of the opportunities and challenges of regional integration in West Africa, particularly considering uncertainties created by regional shocks and tightening global conditions.
The bank also used the platform to conduct a comprehensive review of the performance of the West African regional portfolio and propose a robust and realistic improvement plan informed by the lessons learned.
It was also used to strengthen high-level dialogue between the Bank, the ECOWAS Commission, and other national and regional institutions on all issues relating to regional integration.
It focused particularly on the mobilisation of resources for regional projects, the strengthening of implementation capacities, addressing fragility and recent shocks in the region, the establishment of a regional early warning system, and the progress on the security indexed-investment bonds.
The mid-term review was also used to assess the relevance of the priority areas of the West Africa RISP 2020-2025 to the strategic priorities of ECOWAS and adjust the pipeline of regional operations to be implemented during the remaining period of the strategy, from 2023 to 2025, based on these priorities and the available funding possibilities.
It collected the data and information required to finalise the combined mid-term review and regional portfolio performance review of the RISP for West Africa 2020–2025 with a view to its presentation to the bank’s boards on October 31, 2023.
Participants in the consultation mission included high-ranking officials from the African Development Bank, the ECOWAS Commission, regional experts, development partners, and other key stakeholders.
GNA