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Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, the Finance Minister, has lauded the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission for producing the Draft ECOWAS Vision 2050, a successor to Vision 2020.

He said ECOWAS Vision 2050 was a very important milestone in the Community’s journey to the realization of “an integrated, peaceful and prosperous West Africa” by 2050.

"It is also important that I congratulate all major actors in the region for the achievements and successes recorded during the implementation of the ECOWAS Vision 2020," Mr Ofori-Atta said in a speech read on his behalf at the opening experts’ meeting to validate the Draft ECOWAS Vision 2050.

The Vision 2020, which had the ambition of transforming the Community from an ECOWAS of States to an ECOWAS of People expired last year.

The Vision 2050 is, therefore, needed to provide the region with a new and medium-term strategic plan that takes into account current development dynamics.

It would be adopted by the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government in December 2021 but its implementation will begin in January 2023.

The Vision Statement is to create: “A fully integrated Community of peoples, living in a peaceful and prosperous region, with strong institutions and respect for fundamental rights and freedoms, striving for inclusive and sustainable development”.

Mr Ofori-Atta said government was proud of the achievements of ECOWAS in Peace and Security; Democracy and Good Governance; Intra Regional Trade and Investments; Free Movements of People, Goods and Capital; and Infrastructure Development (Transport, Energy and ICT) during the implementation of the Vision 2020.

He said those achievements had earned the Community a prestigious place amongst the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in Africa, saying: "ECOWAS is no doubt the model REC in Africa".

"Despite these achievements, so much still remain to be done in order to raise the living standards of our people and contribute to the progress and development of the African Continent as enshrined in the Revised ECOWAS Treaty," he noted.

Mr Ofori-Atta urged the participants to consider, in their deliberations, how the Regional Vision would be aligned with the National Development Plans in Member States and how the Vision would address extraordinary shocks such as covid-19, as well as adequate funding for its implementation.