By Rachel Quartey
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has trained about thirty journalists in the sub-region on the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) and African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement.
The Regional training which took place in Abuja – Nigeria, from 29th November, was co-funded by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), the World Bank Group (WBG), and the European Union (EU).
The journalists, who were selected from both English- and French-speaking member states of ECOWAS, were taken through various trade blocs within the sub-region, the African continent, and the world at large.
These include the World Trade Organization TFA, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement, the ECOWAS Common External Tariff (CET), and the ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme (ETLS). The 4-day training is to equip the journalists with skills to effectively report on trade facilitation and related issues in the region.
Addressing participants during the opening ceremony, the Programme Officer, Informal Trade and Competition at ECOWAS, Dr. Sacko Seydou, said the training is to build the capacity of journalists within the West African sub-region in the area of trade.
“We are having this training, to give them good background and information on the agreements of the Commission, to fast track it and ensure that member states will be on the same page of understanding on what the two agreements can help us with the integration process,” he stated.
Dr. Sacko Seydou further said the sub-region needs to take advantage of the whole process to benefit its citizens. Hence the need to train journalists to better communicate the WTO TFA and the AfCFTA to its people.
The Trade and Private Sector Adviser of GIZ-Nigeria, Mr. Raymond Dangana said GIZ is committed to helping ECOWAS achieve its vision.
“I will end here by reiterating the commitment of GIZ to address the needs of ECOWAS Commission towards the strengthening of the regional integration for the achievement of the ECOWAS Vision 2050 that is ECOWAS of the Peoples: Peace and Prosperity for All”, he remarked.