The 52nd ECOWAS Heads of State
and Government summit opened in Abuja on Saturday as leaders discuss Morocco’s
membership of the bloc and the security situation in Guinea Bissau.
Morocco had made its request to
be a member of ECOWAS while Tunisia requested to be an observer country.
The 51st Ordinary Session held in
Monrovia, Liberia in June agreed in principle to Morocco’s membership of the
sub-regional bloc and directed the commission to consider the implications of
the country’s membership.
The commission confirmed that
study on the impact of Morocco’s membership was carried out and the outcome
would be submitted to the Authority.
Morocco was, however not invited
for the 52nd summit.
Its Foreign Ministry reportedly
said that the country had to wait until the first quarter of 2018 to know the
decision of the ECOWAS Heads of State which would be announced at an
extraordinary session.
Tunisia has, however, been
granted an observer status by the authority and the commission has been further
directed to take necessary measures to ensure all procedures relating to an
observer status are implemented.
The commission also confirmed
that the authority called on Mauritania to submit its request for readmission
to ECOWAS.
Mauritanian President Mohamed
Ould Abdel Aziz and Tunisian President Beji Essebsi are scheduled to make
presentations as special guests at the opening session of the summit.
The summit would also discuss the
political and security situation in Guinea Bissau.
The ECOWAS recently said its
mission in Guinea Bissau had taken an “excruciating toll” on the financial
resources of the sub-region.
The ECOWAS Mission in Guinea Bissau
made up of troops from Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Togo and Niger was
deployed in May 2012 following a military coup in April 2012.
ECOMIB helped to establish a
civilian-led transitional government, which ended with the election of
President José Mario Vaz in a run-off in May 2014 for a five-year term.
The international community has
called on authorities of Guinea Bissau to implement the Conakry Agreement of
Oct. 2016.
The agreement is the primary
framework for a peaceful resolution of the political crisis in the country.
The Heads of State went in for a
closed-door session before making any statements, which is away from its usual
tradition.
The West African leaders, during
the closed session, would review the reports of the 79th Ordinary Session of
the Council of Ministers and the 39th Ordinary Meeting of the Mediation and
Security Council.
President Muhammadu Buhari is scheduled to present a welcome address at
the opening of the summit followed by statements of President of the
commission, Marcel de Souza.
Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas, Special
Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for West Africa and the
Sahel and Chairperson of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat would
present statements.
The opening address would be made
by the Chairman of the Authority, President Faure Gnassingbé of Togo.
All 15-member states of the
ECOWAS are represented at the summit.
NAN
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