Abuja, 22 June 2025
 

Your Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Chairperson of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government;

Excellencies, Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS Member States;

Your Excellency Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, President of the African Union Commission;

Your Excellency Omar Alieu Touray, President of the ECOWAS Commission;

Distinguished Guests;                                                                          

Ladies and Gentlemen,

1. It is an honour to participate in this 67^th Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS. It is my pleasure to convey warm greetings from the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. António Guterres, who wishes you a successful meeting.
2. The past several months has been marked by key developments in our subregion, mixing formidable challenges and signs for a positive way forward. On one hand, the formal withdrawal of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger from ECOWAS on 29 January, and on the other hand, recent rapprochement between the AES countries and ECOWAS.
3. Therefore, the United Nations welcomes the determination from both sides to maintain the gains of regional integration, while striving to find ways and means to cooperate on mechanisms to tackle common challenges, namely defeating terrorism .
4. In this regard, we commend the 22 May meeting in Bamako, between the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Alieu Touray and the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the three countries of the Alliance des Etats du Sahel (AES). For us, this meeting is an important step forward, a step that gives us reasons for pragmatic optimism towards preserving a united West Africa of peace, stability and prosperity.
5. In our view, the steps to follow should concentrate deliberate efforts on restoring trust among all the countries of West Africa, thus enabling them to come together to fight and defeat terrorism, which is becoming more coordinated and sophisticated in its attacks, with a growing use of children as combatants. Therefore, terrorism is now the biggest existential threat for some countries of the region, and this call for a collective response.

Excellences, Mesdames et Messieurs,

1. Les Nations Unies restent engagées à soutenir les efforts nationaux et régionaux en faveur de la paix, de la sécurité et du développement dans la sous-région. À cet égard, j’ai pris une série d’engagements.
2. Je me suis rendu au Mali au mois de février, puis j'ai effectué des visites au Niger et au Burkina Faso le mois dernier. Dans chacun de ces trois pays, j'ai rencontré diverses parties prenantes, notamment les plus hauts dirigeants, avec lesquels j'ai discuté de questions politiques, sécuritaires, humanitaires et socio-économiques, y compris sur la coopération régionale.
3. Au mois de mai, j'ai effectué une visite au Ghana, où j'ai rencontré le président John Mahama et d'autres interlocuteurs et réaffirmé le soutien des Nations Unies. Je me suis rendu en Côte d'Ivoire en avril, où j'ai rencontré le président Alassane Ouattara, et tenu une série de réunions avec les autorités ivoiriennes, et les principaux acteurs politiques. J'ai réitéré le soutien des Nations Unies au déroulement pacifique de l’élection présidentielle du 25 octobre prochain, avec comme but de préserver la paix et la stabilité au pays et dans la région.  
4. Parallèlement, dans le cadre de mes engagements continus dans la région, je me suis rendu en Gambie au mois de  mai, où j'ai été reçu par le président Adama Barrow. J'ai également rencontré divers parties prenantes et les ai appelées à œuvrer pour un dialogue constructif dans le cadre des processus de réforme constitutionnelle, essentiels à la stabilité et au développement de la Gambie.
5. Plus tôt ce mois-ci, je me suis rendu en Guinée, où j'ai rencontré plusieurs interlocuteurs, dont le Premier ministre et le président du Conseil national de transition. Au cours de ma visite, j'ai réaffirmé l'engagement des Nations Unies à soutenir une transition pacifique et apaisée, en collaboration et en synergie avec les autorités guinéennes, l’Union africaine, la CEDEAO et divers partenaires.

Excellencies Ladies and Gentlemen,

1. As this 67^th Ordinary Session of the Authority is holding in the context of the commemoration of the 50^th Anniversary of ECOWAS, I was particularly honoured to have been invited to Lagos last May to witness such a memorable moment of celebration and reflection. I wish to recall the United Nations Secretary message on the occasion of the 50^th Anniversary on 28 May.
2. On the occasion of the  Golden Jubilee, the Secretary-General noted that, over the past five decades, ECOWAS has played a vital role in advancing economic cooperation, regional integration, and peace and stability in this rich and vibrant region. He underlined that from free movement of people and trade liberalization to regional infrastructure projects, conflict resolution, and contributions to peacekeeping, ECOWAS has made remarkable strides towards achieving its vision of an integrated Community of peoples in a peaceful and prosperous region
3. This Golden Jubilee of ECOWAS reminds us of the decades of fruitful cooperation between ECOWAS and the United Nations. The United Nations collaboration with ECOWAS through the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) and the broader United Nations System, has supported joint engagements in several areas.
4. These include preventive diplomacy, support towards peaceful elections and sound governance. In particular, the United Nations has worked alongside ECOWAS to champion the equal, meaningful, and sustained participation of women and youth in peacebuilding, democratic governance, and decision-making processes throughout the region.
5. For the United Nations, ECOWAS exemplifies the vital role of Regional Economic Communities in maintaining peace and security, as envisioned in Chapter VIII of the UN Charter.

Excelências, Senhoras e Senhoras,

1. Num momento em que marcamos um importante marco na história da CEDEAO, as Nações Unidas reiteram o seu compromisso para aprofundar a cooperação com esta organização no espírito de solidariedade, complementaridade e vantagens comparativas.
2. Mantemos o nosso compromisso de colaborar para garantir que a paz, segurança e estabilidade na nossa sub-região sejam uma realidade sustentável.
3. Termino desejando que os trabalhos desta Cimeira decorram de forma frutífera, no interesse comum da paz e estabilidade na nossa sb-região.
4. Agradeço pela vossa amável atenção.