President Bola Tinubu has left Abuja and embarked on a trip to Nairobi, Kenya, to participate in the Fifth Mid-Year Coordination Meeting of the African Union (AU), Regional Economic Communities (RECs), Regional Mechanisms (RMs), and African Union Member States.
As the Chairperson of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), President Tinubu, according to the Presidency, will join Heads of State and Government, Foreign Ministers of AU Member States, and other high-level dignitaries at the mid-year meeting scheduled for Sunday, July 16.
During the meeting, President Tinubu will present a report on the progress of regional integration within ECOWAS. The report will highlight the actions taken by ECOWAS institutions, member states, the private sector, and other stakeholders to enhance integration through initiatives such as trade, free movement of people, investment promotion, infrastructure development, peace, security, and stability.
The Fifth Mid-Year Coordination Meeting, held under the AU’s 2023 theme of “Acceleration of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Implementation,” will bring together the Bureau of the AU Assembly, consisting of Heads of State and Government from Comoros, Botswana, Burundi, Senegal, as well as leaders from the eight RECs.
These regional economic communities include ECOWAS (chaired by Nigeria), the East African Community (EAC), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Community of Sahel–Saharan States (CEN-SAD), the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA), and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS).
According to a statement by the President’s spokesman, Dele Alake, the meeting will involve the African Union Commission and the Regional Mechanisms as well.
