By Abiola Olawale
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is set to meet with visiting West African leaders as he hosts a line-up of regional leaders, including Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama, Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, and Liberia’s President Joseph Boakai, at the inaugural West Africa Economic Summit (WAES).
Others expected at the Summit are the President of Gambia, Adama Barrow; the President of Sierra Leone, Julius Maada Bio; the President of Guinea-Bissau, Umaro Sissoco Embaló; the President of Togo’s Council of Ministers, Faure Gnassingbe; and the President of the Benin Republic, Patrice Talon.
It was gathered that the economic summit which is currently taking place at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre in Abuja, is aimed at discussing ways to improve West Africa’s economic landscape.
The Economic Summit, which enters its second and final day on Saturday, is coming before the 67th Ordinary Summit of the Economic Community of West African States, scheduled to hold at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja tomorrow.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, revealed this in a statement he released on Saturday titled ‘President Tinubu To Advance Economic Integration At The West Africa Economic Summit’.
The statement reads in part: “An initiative of President Tinubu in his capacity as Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, WAES is the first of its kind and is convened to deepen regional economic integration. Its strong focus is on enhancing trade and investment cooperation across the subregion.”
According to the statement, government officials attending the summit include Ministers of Finance, Trade, Infrastructure, and Foreign Affairs from the ECOWAS Member States, as well as representatives from regional economic bodies such as the West African Monetary Agency, West African Monetary Institute, ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development, the West African Economic and Monetary Union, and the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat.
Onanuga added that Private sector leaders, development partners, and policy experts are also participating.
