Ecowas Council of Ministers
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1 ECONOMIC COMMUNITY OF MUNAUTE·:CONONIQUE DES I~ WEST AFRICAN STATES TS DE L'AFR:aUE DE L'OUEST .1J. ECW/CMXLlXlJ3Rev.2 FORTY-NINTH ORDINARY SESSION OF THE ECOWAS COUNCIL OF MINISTERS Dakar, 26 - 28 January 2003 ... Dakar, January 2003 Report of the 49th Session of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers Page 1 Introduction 1. The forty-ninth session of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers took place from 26 to 28 January 2003, at the Palais des Congres, Hotel Meridien President, Dakar. 2. The following Member States were represented: Republic of Benin Burkina Faso Republic of Cape Verde Republic of The Gambia Republic of Ghana Republic of Guinea Republic of Guinea Bissau Republic of Liberia Republic of Mali Federal Republic of Nigeria Republic of Senegal Republic of Sierra Leone Togolese Republic 3. The Heads of the following ECOWAS specialised institutions were also present at the meeting: The ECOWAS Parliament The Community Court of Justice The ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) The West African Health Organisation (WAHO) The West African Women's Association (WAWA) The West African Monetary Agency (WAMA) Report of the 49th Session of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers Page 2 4. The following institutions were present as observers: , The West African Monetary Institute (WAMI) BCEAO (the Central Bank of West African States) The West African Sub-regional Development Centre (SRDC) of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) The African Business Round Table (ABR) 5. A list of participants is attached to this report. 11. OPENING SESSION 6. In the absence of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Mr. Cheikh Tidiane Gadio, Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs, the African Union and Senegalese Abroad, who was attending the Paris summit on the Ivorian crisis, the opening address at the meeting was delivered by the Honourable Minister of the Public Service, Labour and Professional Organisations, Honourable Yero De who welcomed members of Council and their respective delegations, on behalf of the President of the Republic of Senegal and current Chairman of ECOWAS and the UEMOA, His Excellency, Maitre Abdoulaye Wade, and the government and people of Senegal. 7. The Honourable Minister began by underscoring the fact that ECOWAS today faces challenges on both the economic and the political fronts. One such challenge, he said, was the problem of security in the sub-region, with particular reference to the Ivorian crisis. The Honourable Minister paid tribute to the efforts expended by the Community in the person of its current Chairman, and through the Contact Group set up by the Extraordinary Summit held in Accra on 29 September 2002, to mediate in this crisis, and find a lasting solution to the problem. The Minister also thanked all the other facilitators, whether African or foreign, who are working with ECOWAS to bring about a solution to the Ivorian Report of the 491h Session of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers Page 3 crisis. 8. The Honourable Minister went on to review progress in the implementation of the ECOWAS priority programmes, which include the introduction of the ECOWAS passport, the implementation of the trade liberalisation scheme, and the introduction of a common external tariff. 9. In conclusion, the Honourable Minister stressed the need to make renewed efforts to reinforce the regional integration process, and thereby facilitate the insertion of the West African economies into the global economy. 10. On joining the meeting later, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Mr. Cheikh Tidiane Gadio, took the floor to brief Council on the efforts undertaken to find a lasting solution to the Ivorian crisis, placing particular emphasis on the outcome of the African Summit in Paris on' the Ivorian crisis, and expressing satisfaction at the consensus reached at that Summit. Ill. ELECTION OF BUREAU 11. The bureau of the meeting was elected as follows: • Chairman: Republic of Senegal • Rapporteurs: Republic of Ghana Togolese Republic IV. ADOPTION OF AGENDA 12. The agenda of the meeting was adopted as follows: 1. Opening ceremony Report of the 49th Session of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers Page 4 2. Election of bureau 3. Adoption of agenda and work programme 4. Swearing-in of the President of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBIO) - Mr Christian Adovelande 5. Presentation and consideration of the Executive Secretary's annual report 6. Presentation and consideration of the annual activity report of the President of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development for 2002 7. Presentation and consideration of the activity report of the Community Parliament, presented by the Speaker of Parliament 8. Presentation and consideration of the annual activity report of the Community Court of Justice 9. Consideration of the status report on tasks assigned to the Executive Secretariat 10. Consideration of the reports of meetings of : (i) The Ad-hoc Ministerial Committee on the enhancement of the Financial Resources of the ECOWAS Fund (Report of the 22 nd meeting); (ii) Final Report of the Ad-hoc Ministerial Committee on the enhancement of the Financial Resources of the ECOWAS Fund' I (Hi) Governors of Central Banks; oa Report of the 491h Session of Page 5 the ECOWAS Council of Ministers (iv) Ministers of Energy; " (v) Ministers of Women's Affairs; (via) Ministers of Education; (vib) Ministers of Cultural Affairs (vii) Ministers of Livestock Development; (viii) Assembly of Ministers of Health; (ix) Ministers of the Public Service; (x) Ministers of Trade and Finance (on preparations for ACP/EU negotiations ); (xi) West African - European Union Ministers on Political Dialogue; Structure of the ECOWAS Representation for the ECOWAS EU Political Dialogue. (xii) (a) The Administration and Finance Commission; (b) Inclusion of Counterpart Funding in the 2003 Budget; (c) Evaluation Report on the Implementation of the Community Levy; (d) Opening of an ECOWAS Liaison Office in Brussels; (xiii) (a) The Trade, Customs, Taxation, Statistics, Money and Payments Commission; (b) The Study on the impact of the ECOWAS Common External Tariff on the economies of Member States: (for information ,only); Report of the 49th Session of Page 6 the ECOWAS Council of Ministers (xiv) The Transport, Communication and Tourism Commission; (xv) The Political, Judicial and Legal Affairs, Regional Security and Immigration Commission; (xvi) Heads of ECOWAS National Units; (xvii) Directors of Statistics; (xviii) ECOWAS donor assistance for the capacity building of the Executive Secretariat within the framework of NEPAD; (xix) The Joint Meeting of ECOWAS and the International Organisation for Migration on International Migration in West Africa (xx) Forum of the Private Sector on Regional Integration in West Africa; 11. Consideration of the Memoranda on : (i) The Administrative Status of Mr. Frank Ofei; (ii) The ECOWAS Anthem: (iii) The ECOWAS Flag; (iv) The Draft Agreement on the establishment of the Regional Coordinating Unit for Integrated Water Resources Management; (v) Presentation of the Resolution on the enhancement of the powers of the ECOWAS Parliament adopted during its session of September 2002 Report of the 49th Session of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers Page 7 12. Demonstration of the following projects which have important applications , in the Member States the West African Power Pool; the Telecommunications Database Network 13. Adoption of the agenda of the twenty-sixth Ordinary Summit of the Authority of Heads of State and Government. 14. Other matters 15. Adoption of the Report 16. Closing session. v. OUTCOME OF DELIBERATIONS Item 4: Swearing in of the President of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development 13. Following his appointment by the extraordinary session of the Council of Ministers held in Abuja on 23 April 2002, Mr. Christian N. Adovelande was sworn in as President of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development, EBIO. Item 5: Presentation and Consideration of the Executive Secretary's Annual Report 14. The ECOWAS Executive Secretary, Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, Report of the 49ln Session of Page 8 the ECOWAS Council of Ministers presented his first annual report for the year 2002, entitled: "Fostering Regional Integration through NEPAD Implementation". The report analysed the economic \ and financial situation of West Africa in 2001, outlining development prospects, and highlighting the good economic performance of the sub-region during the period under review. Real GDP for the West African countries as a group rose by 4.6% in 2001, compared to 3.80/0 in 2000, spurred by the exceptionally high performance of the Nigerian economy as a result of the increase in the barrel price of petrol, income from exports of natural gas, and the inflow of investment capital to the off-shore petroleum and telecommunications sectors, and particularly into mobile telephones. The report however emphasised the fact that, notwithstanding the good performance of the region, ECOWAS countries are still far from attaining the United Nations millennium target of 70/0 real annual growth needed to reduce poverty by half by 2015. Forecasts for 2002 expected a more significant rise in growth rate influenced by the performance of the second largest economy in the sub-region, Cote d'lvoire, resulting from the renewed influx of investment capital in the wake of the signing of a programme with the Bretton Woods institutions and the normalisation of the political situation. These hopes were dashed, however, by the insurrection of September 2002. 15. In the chapter on the functioning of the Community, the Executive Secretary presented an overview of progress made since the forty-eighth session of the Council of Ministers held in Dakar, in December 2001. He gave prominence to the implementation of the different decisions of the Authority of Heads of State and Government, particularly those relating to the enhancement of institutions, actions relating to the implementation of NEPAD, the regional poverty reduction programme, and the outcome of ECOWAS/UEMOA meetings on the acceleration of the regional integration process in West Africa.