“The realities of global economic relations enjoin us to re- examine the relationship between state sovereignty and collective interest. Our actions must be motivated not only by the need to prevent the spill-over effect and stigma of instability, the need for faster inward investment, improving the lives of our people and checking forced migration, but also as a concrete expression of sub-regional solidarity.”
This position was advanced by the Secretary of State for Trade, Industry and Employment, Abdou Colley, on the occasion of the opening of a five-day meeting of experts on the ECOWAS Conflict Prevention Framework at the Paradise Suites Hotel.

According to Secy Colley, our fates are bound together in many aspects through our common historical experience, geographical contiguity, and common challenges of development and human security.
“The challenges of violent conflicts, fair trade and prices for our commodities, infrastructure development, NEPAD goals, the environment, migration and cross border criminality, are among issues that go beyond national borders and which require regional approaches for their successful resolution,” he noted.

The Trade and Industry Secy added that over the years Ecowas has achieved tangible results in these areas, a reality that he believes is demonstrated by the fact that today there is no active war in the sub-region. He further noted that national stakeholders have a responsibility to put in place the necessary mechanism to manage differences in such a manner that they do not degenerate into open hostility and warfare.
“To achieve this,” he said, “ECOWAS has a responsibility to define the principles of sub-regional co-operation as well as the area and limits of such collaboration.”

He therefore added that the principle of good neighbourliness and commitment to regional integration, community citizenship, peace and security, should form the foreign policy basis of member states.