By: Love Wilhelmina Abanonave
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has highlighted the 50th anniversary of ECOWAS as a momentous occasion for reflection. Speaking at the official launch of the anniversary celebration on April 22, 2025 in Accra and in his capacity as Chair of the ECOWAS Planning Committee, Mr. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa emphasized that the milestone presents a valuable opportunity for Africans to reflect on the challenges overcome and the progress achieved over the past five decades.
Mr Ablakwa emphasized the need for ECOWAS to build on its past foundations while embracing the future. He commended the media for their support in sponsoring the launch, highlighting their commitment to the ECOWAS vision.
‘’It is a time to reaffirm our unwavering commitment to the ideals on which the committee was founded’’, he said.
In his address, the Minister invoked the timeless words of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first President and a pioneering advocate of African unity:
“As Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah reminds us, if we in Africa can achieve the example of a continent knit together in common policy and common purpose, we shall have made the finest possible contribution to that peace for which men and women thirst today and which will lift once and forever the deepening shadow of global destruction.” he quoted.
The launch was graced by dignitaries of member states of the committee and serves as a reminder of the organization’s commitment to regional integration and cooperation, with the aim of promoting economic development and peace in West Africa.
