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The 'Economic Community of West African States' ('ECOWAS') is a regional group of fifteen West African countries, founded on May 28, 1975 with the signing of the Treaty of Lagos. Its mission is to promote economic integration. In 1976 Cape Verde joined ECOWAS, and in 2002 Mauritania withdrew.
It was founded to achieve "collective self-sufficiency" for the member states by means of economic and monetary union creating a single large trading bloc. The very slow progress towards this aim meant that the treaty was revised in Cotonou on July 24, 1993 towards a looser collaboration. The ECOWAS Secretariat and the Fund for Cooperation, Compensation and Development are its two main institutions to implement policies. The ECOWAS Fund was transformed into the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development in 2001.
ECOWAS is one of the pillars of the African Economic Community.
Member states of ECOWAS are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo. The current Executive Secretary is Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas. The current chairman is President Tandja Mamadou of Niger.

Contents

Members

Currency Cooperation

Free movement of people

Regional Security Cooperation

Comparison with other Regional blocs

Executive Secretaries

Chairmen

See also

External links

Members

★ Current members

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★ (joined 1976)

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★ Former members

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★ (1975; quit 2002)

Currency Cooperation

Main articles: CFA franc

The 'West African CFA franc' (XOF), created on December 26, 1945, is currently used in six formerly French-ruled African countries, as well as in Guinea-Bissau (former Portuguese colony). It is managed by the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA).
Main articles: Eco (currency)

The 'Eco' is the proposed name for the common currency the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) plans to introduce on 1 December, 2009. The WAMZ includes the Anglophone countries of Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone, and the Francophone nation of Guinea. Liberia is also interested in joining this monetary union. The ultimate goal is to unite the UEMOA and the WAMZ to form a single monetary zone in West Africa (ECOWAS), which Cape Verde would then also join.

Free movement of people

★ ECOWAS Travel certificate has entered into circulation in Burkina Faso, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Niger, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.

★ ECOWAS Passport is printed and operational in Benin, Mali and Senegal.

Regional Security Cooperation

The ECOWAS nations have signed a non-aggression protocol in 1990 as well as two earlier agreements in 1978 and 1981. They have also signed a Protocol on Mutual Defence Assistance, in Freetown, Sierra Leone, on 29 May, 1989 that was to create an Allied Armed Force of the Community (AAFC) as needed.
''See also: ECOMOG''

Comparison with other Regional blocs

Executive Secretaries

★ Aboubakar Diaby Ouattara (Côte d'Ivoire) January 1977 – 1985

★ Momodu Munu (Sierra Leone) 1985 – 1989

★ Abass Bundu (Sierra Leone) 1989 – 1993

★ Edouard Benjamin (Guinea) 1993 – 1997

★ Lansana Kouyaté (Guinea) September 1997 – 31 January 2002

★ Mohamed Ibn Chambas (Ghana) 1 February 2002 – Present

Chairmen

★ Gnassingbé Eyadéma (Togo) 1977 – 1978

★ Olusegun Obasanjo (Nigeria) 1978 – 1979

★ Léopold Sédar Senghor (Senegal) 1979 – 1980

★ Gnassingbé Eyadéma (Togo) 1980 – 1981

★ Siaka Stevens (Sierra Leone) 1981 – 1982

★ Mathieu Kérékou (Benin) 1982 – 1983

★ Ahmed Sékou Touré (Guinea) 1983 – 1984

★ Lansana Conté (Guinea) 1984 – 1985

★ Muhammadu Buhari (Nigeria) 1985 – 27 August 1985

★ Ibrahim Babangida (Nigeria) 27 August 1985 – 1989

★ Dawda Jawara (The Gambia) 1989 – 1990

★ Blaise Compaoré (Burkina Faso) 1990 – 1991

★ Dawda Jawara (The Gambia) 1991 – 1992

★ Abdou Diouf (Senegal) 1992 – 1993

★ Nicéphore Soglo (Benin) 1993 – 1994

★ Jerry John Rawlings (Ghana) 1994 – 27 July 1996

★ Sani Abacha (Nigeria) 27 July 1996 – 8 June 1998

★ Abdulsalami Abubakar (Nigeria) 9 June 1998 – 1999

★ Gnassingbé Eyadéma (Togo) 1999

★ Alpha Oumar Konaré (Mali) 1999 – 21 December 2001

★ Abdoulaye Wade (Senegal) 21 December 2001 – 31 January 2003

★ John Agyekum Kufuor (Ghana) 31 January 2003 – 19 January 2005

★ Mamadou Tandja (Niger) 19 January 2005 – Present

See also

★ Economy of Africa

★ Currency union

★ Trade bloc

External links

★ ECOWAS Official Web Site

★ ECOWAS Parliament

★ ECOWAS Revised Treaty

★ ECO(was) Bank West African banking group, present in ten ECOWAS countries, including Central African country Cameroon. ECOBANK's Initial Public Offer of eight million plus shares in Accra, Ghana in May 2006 was oversubscribed. Money generated from this IPO, that has resulted in the landing of ECOBANK on the Ghana Stock Exchange, will see ECOBANK expand to remaining ECOWAS countries. More:
★ [1];

★ PowerPoint presentation of ECOWAS, 2004

★ ''Mbendi'' profile