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Democracy & Peace

Development co-operation

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Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the Commission, and Angel Losada, EU Special Representative for the Sahel, and the G5 Sahel Foreign Ministers (Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger) met on 5 June in Bamako, Mali, to discuss their strategic partnership. They want to move the establishment of the joint armed force forward to fight against terrorism and to secure, among other things, the border area between Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. Read on

10 May 2017

ECOWAS takes stock of its progress on trade liberalisation

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ECOWAS

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Salou Djibo, President of the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme and former president of Niger, met with ECOWAS Commission President Marcel de Souza to discuss their progress in the implementation of the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS). During a briefing session of the ETLS Task Force on 10 May in Abuja, they reiterated the Commission’s commitment to achieve economic integration. Read on

12 Apr 2017

Satellite towns: Benefiting from proximity

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Demographic trends

Infrastructure

Urban-rural development

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SWAC

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Twenty-five per cent of West Africa’s nearly 2 000 urban agglomerations can be described as satellite towns. These 461 towns have a combined population of 14.4 million or 11% of the total urban population of West Africa. Nigeria is the country with the greatest number of satellite towns (367). Satellite towns are, by definition, modest in size with an average of 31 000 inhabitants. Read on

31 Mar 2017

Nigeria at the Global Anti-Corruption & Integrity Forum

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Nigeria

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Development co-operation

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From 30-31 March 2017, the OECD hosted the fifth edition of the 2017 Global Anti-Corruption and Integrity Forum on the theme, ‘‘In the public interest: Taking integrity to higher standards.’’ Nigerian Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo participated as the keynote speaker. In his statement entitled, ‘‘United action is the key,’’ Osinbajo highlighted the immense challenges that corruption and illicit financial flows pose in developing countries. Read on

02 Mar 2017

Benin: No more visas needed for Africans

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Benin

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ECOWAS

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Africans travelling to Benin will no longer require a visa. Benin joined a continent-wide campaign aimed at achieving the free movement of people and open visas across Africa. Eight West African countries — Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Mali and Togo — are counted as some of the most visa-open countries in Africa. Read on

07 Feb 2017

G5 Sahel: towards a joint force?

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On Monday, 6 February, the G5 Sahel heads of state met for their sixth extra-ordinary summit on the theme, “The security situation in Mali and its impact on the Sahel.” The meeting took place against a background in which Mali's peace agreement is breaking down; there are persistent terrorist attacks and, in recent months, there have been many operations in neighbouring countries. Among the measures mentioned, the G5 leaders emphasised the implementation of a joint force. Read on

06 Feb 2017

Liptako-Gourma: new joint task force

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Burkina Faso

Mali

Niger

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Sahara-Sahel

Security

Terrorism

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Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali have a plan to create a new joint task force to fight insecurity in the Liptako-Gourma area. The decision was taken on 24 January in Niamey during the second Extra-ordinary Conference of Heads of State of the Integrated Development Authority of the Liptako-Gourma region. The region is at risk of becoming a sanctuary for terrorist groups and criminals of all kinds. Read on

27 Jan 2017

Morocco, Nigeria plan for a trans-African gas pipeline

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Energy

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An ambitious flagship project, the long-awaited construction of a trans-African gas pipeline connecting Nigeria via Morocco to Europe, might finally advance. The project was officially announced in December 2016 during a visit of King Mohammed VI to Nigeria. The 4 000 km pipeline will run along the Gulf of Guinea countries and will help create industrial hubs, and thereby will also boost regional economic integration beyond the energy sector. Read on

25 Jan 2017

Cross-border co-operation potential of West Africa

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SWAC

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One out of five West Africans, or 72 million people, live within 50 km of the region’s 32 000 km of land borders. These border areas are often hubs of formal and informal activity for the circulation of goods and people, and hold significant potential for cross-border co-operation. Based on seven indicators of regional integration – covering a wide range of economic, environmental, political and social issues – this map aims to measure the potential of cross-border co-operation across West Africa. Read on

18 Oct 2016

Mapping West African trade networks

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