ECOWAS: Economic Community of West African States
ECOWAS: definition of the Economic Community of West African States
ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) is a regional integration organisation founded by the Treaty of Lagos of 1975, revised in 1993. It has its headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria, and has twelve member states. Its mission is to promote integration, peace and shared prosperity in West Africa, through common economic, political and security policies.
The twelve member states and the withdrawals
The member states are Benin, Cabo Verde, Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire), the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, grouped within the Confederation of Sahel States, left the organisation; their withdrawal took effect on 29 January 2025.
Two national situations have also concerned the organisation. Guinea-Bissau was suspended on 27 November 2025 after a coup. The suspension of Guinea was lifted on 28 January 2026, and the Guinean president Mamadi Doumbouya took part in a summit for the first time in July 2026.
Institutions and bodies of the community
The Commission, based in Abuja, is the executive body. The Community Parliament, the Community Court of Justice and the Office of the Auditor General complete the institutional architecture. Specialised agencies work in specific fields: the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), the West African Health Organisation (WAHO) and the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA).
The 69th ordinary summit of heads of state and government was held in Lungi, Sierra Leone, and ended on 19 July 2026. The Senegalese president Bassirou Diomaye Faye took over the chairmanship of the Authority there. The Senegalese general Birame Diop was appointed president of the Commission for a four-year term, from 2026 to 2030; he succeeds the Gambian Omar Alieu Touray and has been installed in Abuja.
Strategic priorities and regional policies
Five priorities structure the community's action: peace and security, governance and the rule of law, economic integration and interconnectivity, transformation and sustainable development, and social inclusion. They form part of Vision 2050.
Economic integration rests on a regional market, infrastructure linking the countries and macroeconomic convergence criteria covering inflation, debt and the public deficit. These criteria are at the heart of the single currency project, the eco, whose implementation remains subject to the convergence of monetary policies. Several members use the West African CFA franc and others a national currency, which complicates harmonisation.
Relations with the Confederation of Sahel States
The main subject of the 69th summit, in July 2026, was the response to be given to the withdrawal of the three Sahelian states. According to diplomats, no full consensus on a strategy emerged at the end of the discussions.