Monrovia – Liberia is set for the first time to host the ECOWAS Parliament since its establishment in 1975.
At least 150 delegates, including parliamentarians and supporting staffs are expected to attend the meeting. Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor will serve as guest speaker at the opening ceremony of the weeklong event.
The scheduled Monrovia Parliamentary seminar will focus on powers of the ECOWAS Parliament. It is stipulated that “Parliament should endeavor to hold its extraordinary session in the respective member states, either on the initiative of the Bureau or at the invitation of a member state”.
Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire are the only member countries beside that have hosted the event. Tomorrow will be the opening of the Seminar on Transhumance and Intercommunity Conflicts in the ECOWAS Region, 12 -14 September 2019.
Background of ECOWAS
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was created on May 28, 1975 in Lagos, Nigeria. ECOWAS was established to promote cooperation and integration in order to create an economic and monetary union for promoting economic growth and development in West Africa.
ECOWAS has encountered many problems in the process of regionally integrating West Africa, including: political instability and lack of good governance that has plagued many member countries; the insufficient diversification of national economies; the absence of reliable infrastructure; and the multiplicity of organizations for regional integration with the same objectives.