STATEMENT BY H.E. DR OMAR ALIEU TOURAY, PRESIDENT OF THE ECOWAS COMMISSION, AT THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE 69TH ORDINARY SESSION OF THE ECOWAS AUTHORITY OF HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT AND THE SUMMIT OF THE FUTURE
Freetown, Republic of Sierra Leone
19 July 2026
Your Excellency Dr Julius Maada Bio, President of the Republic of Sierra Leone and Chair of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government;
Your Excellencies, ECOWAS Heads of State and Government;
Your Excellency, Mohammed Ould El-Ghazouani, President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania;
Excellency, Alhaji Musa Timothy Kabba, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sierra Leone and Chair of the Council of Ministers;
Honourable Ministers;
Your Excellency, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, Chairperson of the African Union Commission;
Your Excellency, Sidi Ould Tah, President of the African Development Bank Group,
Your Excellency, Leonardo Santos Simao, Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for West Africa and the Sahel;
Excellencies, Heads of Regional Organisations;
Her Excellency the Vice President of the Commission;
Heads of Community Institutions;
Honorable Commissioners;
Excellency Lansana Kouyate, ECOWAS Chief Negotiator with AES;
Excellency Baba Kamara, Special Envoy on Counter-terrorism;
Honourable Musa Sillah, Chairperson of the ETLS Taskforce;
Distinguished Guests;
Ladies and Gentlemen.
It is both an honour and a privilege to welcome you to the Sixty-Ninth Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government and to the Summit on the Future of Regional Integration.
On behalf of the Management and Staff of the ECOWAS Institutions, I express our profound appreciation to His Excellency Dr Julius Maada Bio, President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, the Government and the people of Sierra Leone for the warm hospitality and excellent arrangements made for these statutory meetings.
Mr Chairman,
Allow me to commend you for the exemplary leadership you have provided to our community over the past year.
Your commitment to regional peace, cooperation, and integration has greatly contributed to the work of our community during a particularly important period.
Your Excellencies,
This Summit is particularly significant for me, as it is the last occasion on which I have the privilege of addressing the Authority as President of the ECOWAS Commission.
Serving this Community over the past four years has been one of the greatest honors of my professional life.
I remain profoundly grateful to the Authority for the confidence you placed in me and to the Member States for the support they have consistently extended to the Commission.
When this Management assumed office, we pledged to build a more effective, accountable and citizen-centered ECOWAS.
We understood that our success would not be measured solely by the programmes we implemented, but by the strength of the institutions we left behind and the confidence our citizens continued to place in regional integration.
The years that followed tested our resolve in ways few could have anticipated.
Our community confronted complex political transitions, persistent security threats, economic shocks, climate-related challenges, and changing geopolitical realities.
Most significantly, we navigated the unprecedented withdrawal of three Member States from our Community.
Throughout this period, the Authority demonstrated remarkable leadership and unity, while the Commission remained steadfast in implementing your decisions, preserving institutional continuity, maintaining dialogue and protecting the long-term interests of our community.
Your Excellencies,
Despite these challenges, our regional integration project continued to advance.
Throughout this mandate, the Commission remained focused on implementing the strategic direction provided by the Authority.
We pursued institutional reforms to strengthen governance, accountability and efficiency across our Community Institutions; promoted initiatives to deepen regional economic integration and private sector participation; strengthened cooperation with Member States and development partners; and continued to position ECOWAS as a credible and responsive institution capable of addressing the evolving needs of our region.
While significant challenges remain, I believe we have collectively reinforced the foundations upon which future generations can continue to build.
These achievements belong not to one institution or to one individual.
They are the product of the collective leadership of this Authority, the commitment of Member States, the dedication of Community Institutions and the invaluable support of our partners.
Your Excellencies,
The theme of this gathering, the Summit of the Future, could not be more appropriate.
The future of ECOWAS will not be determined solely by the challenges we face today, but by the choices we make in responding to them.
The agenda before you reflect that responsibility.
During this Summit, you will consider the Interim Report on the State of the Community, deliberate on the recommendations of the Council of Ministers, endorse the Compact on the Future of Regional Integration, sign the Inter-Governmental Agreement for the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline, and elect the next President of the ECOWAS Commission.
Together, these decisions will shape the future direction of our community.
As we look ahead, our priorities remain clear.
We must continue to preserve peace and constitutional order.
We must deepen regional trade and economic integration. We must accelerate industrialization, digital transformation and infrastructure development.
We must create opportunities for our young people and women. We must strengthen food security and resilience to climate change. Above all, we must ensure that ECOWAS remains an institution that delivers tangible benefits to every citizen of our region.
Your Excellencies,
No regional organisation can succeed without political leadership. For more than five decades, the Authority of Heads of State and Government has remained the driving force behind the ECOWAS integration project.
It is your vision, your commitment, and your willingness to place regional interests alongside national priorities that have enabled our community to endure and evolve.
As I conclude my tenure, allow me to express my deepest appreciation to each of you for your trust, your guidance, and your friendship.
Allow me also to express my profound appreciation to Her Excellency Madam Damtien Larbli Tchintchibidja, Vice-President of the Commission;
Dr Habibu Yaya Bappah, Commissioner for Internal Services;
Dr Abdel-Fatau Musah, Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security;
Dr Kalilou Sylla, Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture; and Professor Fatou Sow Sarr, Commissioner for Human Development and Social Affairs.
I have been privileged to serve alongside each of you, and I thank you for your professionalism, dedication, and unwavering commitment to the ideals of ECOWAS.
I also wish to acknowledge the distinguished Heads of our Community Institutions, whose leadership has been instrumental in advancing the work of ECOWAS:
Jao Alage Mamadu Fadia, Auditor-General of ECOWAS Institutions;
His Lordship Ricardo Cláudio Monteiro Gonçalves, President of the Community Court of Justice;
Honourable Hadja Memounatou Ibrahima, Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament;
Dr Melchior Athanase Aissi, Director General of the West African Health Organisation (WAHO); and Edwin Woryonwon Harris Jr., Director General of GIABA.
To all the Directors, ECOWAS Resident Representatives in Member States, and every member of staff across ECOWAS Institutions, I extend my deepest appreciation.
Your commitment, professionalism, and resilience have sustained the work of our community through both moments of progress and periods of uncertainty.
I am deeply grateful for your service and honored to have worked alongside you.
History reminds us that institutions are strengthened not only by the decisions they make, but by the values they uphold. I therefore leave office with confidence in the future of ECOWAS.
Confident because our institutions are stronger. Confident because our partnerships are deeper. Confident because the vision that inspired the founding of our community remains as relevant today as it was fifty-one years ago.
And above all, confident because the people of West Africa continue to believe that their future is stronger when it is built together.
May the decisions taken at this Summit renew that confidence and prepare our community for the opportunities that lie ahead.
I thank Your Excellencies for the honor and privilege of serving our community, and I wish you fruitful deliberations.
Long Live ECOWAS.Thank you for your kind attention.
Merci de votre aimable attention.
Muito obrigado.
Source: ECOWAS Commission
