President George Manneh Weah has described as successful and rewarding, the just – ended one-day Extraordinary Summit of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on terrorism.
According to an Executive Mansion release, the one-day session, presided over by the Chairperson of the Authority, Niger President Issoufou Mahamadou, was held on Saturday, 14 September in the Ouaga 2000 International Conference Center, Burkina Faso.
President Weah and 14 other West African leaders were in attendance.
Leaders of the G5 Sahel including Cameroon, Chad, Algeria, France, and the Islamic Republic of Mauritania also graced the summit.
Following the summit, President Weah told journalists that the meeting was fruitful as it adopted appropriate policies and a framework with a communiqué aimed at addressing terrorism in the region and other parts of Africa.
“With commitment from leaders at the summit including our United Nations, African and European Unions partners, we say confidently the fight against terrorism is well on track,” President Weah said in answer to a reporter’s question.
According to him, the Communiqué among other things calls on the United Nations Security Council, in conjunction with the African Union to urgently resolve the crisis in Libya, which has become hotbed of terrorism.
The ECOWAS authority through the communiqué reaffirms its commitment to the promotion of peace, security and stability in the region, the preconditions for the region’s integration and economic development.
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During the Summit, the Authority also adopted a priority action plan for the 2020 – 2022 period, focusing on pooling and coordination of counter-terrorism efforts, effective and direct information and intelligence sharing among member states.
The plan also includes training and equipping officers involved in counter-terrorism, strengthening management and security at land, air, sea and river borders and strengthening the control of arms and dual-use goods.The 2010-2022 Plan also provides for countering the financing of terrorism, promoting communication, inter-community dialogue and preventing violent extremism and resource mobilization to fund counter-terrorism within ECOWAS.
Meanwhile, President Weah and entourage safely returned home on Sunday, September 15, 2019.Upon arrival, President Weah joined worshipers at the Georgia Panten United Methodist Church.He briefed the congregation on the ECOWAS Summit held in Burkina Faso.He says terrorism is a global phenomenon that requires collective actions to fight and defeat. He informs worshipers that a single individual can inspire group of people into acts of terrorism. –Press release
