ECOWAS, AfDB Move To Extend West Africa Integration Plan Beyond 2025
West Africa’s push for deeper integration is getting a fresh lease of life, and the stakes are high for trade, infrastructure and people-to-people ties across the region.
ECOWAS and the African Development Bank (AfDB) have begun high-level talks in Abuja to extend the Regional Integration Strategy Paper (RISP) for West Africa, which officially expired in December 2025.
The three-day consultation (4-6 February 2026) brings top officials from both institutions together to align priorities and unlock new funding for cross-border projects.
AfDB’s Director-General for West Africa, Lamin Barrow, said extending the RISP is crucial to sustain ongoing and future operations under the Bank’s partnership with ECOWAS.
ECOWAS Commission President, Dr Omar Alieu Touray, praised AfDB’s broad support to the region, spanning agriculture, infrastructure, trade and customs, health, education, industry and energy, and stressed the need for continuity to keep regional integration on track.
With security, food systems and trade corridors under pressure, the outcome of these talks could shape how West Africa coordinates development efforts in the years ahead.
Follow the Savinews Africa channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VawgaEL5vKA9Y5
