Akufo-Addo arrives in Monrovia for his first ECOWAS summit

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo arrived in Monrovia, Liberia Sunday morning to participate in the 51st Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States. 

President Akufo-Addo is joining his counterparts for the first time as a Head of State, reports Graphic Online’s Presidential Correspondent, Victor Kwawukume who is in Monrovia for the summit. 

High on the agenda at the meeting would be topical political, economic and security concerns within the sub-region.

The President’s participation would also give impetus to Ghana’s commitment to the ECOWAS project regarding integration, the common currency and trade liberalization.

President Nana Akufo-Addo has already paid visits to member countries since assuming power where he reiterated Ghana’s commitment to the ideals of the ECOWAS and the need to scale up activities to leverage the economic potentials that abound within the sub-region with a population of 350 million.

The meeting would also consider the application for membership by Morocco, a request by Tunisia for observer status, as well as the Association Agreement between Mauritania and the ECOWAS.

Also on the agenda would be the election of a new Chair of ECOWAS to replace Liberia’s Ellen Sirleaf Johnson, whose tenure as president ends this year.

The meeting would also consider series of reports, particularly that of the ECOWAS mid-year statutory meetings that that took place before the summit, including reports by the Ad-Hoc Ministerial Committee on Institutional Reforms and End of Tenure of Statutory Appointees; 78th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers; 38th Ordinary Meeting of the Mediation and Security Council and the 2017 Interim Report of ECOWAS.

It would also decide on a date and venue for the 52nd summit.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Moroccan King Mohammed V1 are expected to attend the meeting.

The meeting is the first to be hosted by Liberia since the inception of the ECOWAS 42 years ago.

As of 6pm on Saturday, June 3, 2017, some heads of state had arrived at the Farmington Hotel, near the Roberts International Airport, the venue of the meeting.