Nigeria: The Vice-President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission Receives the Director-General of the French Development Agency

His Excellency Mr Anthony Oluwatosin Ogunjimi, Vice-President of the ECOWAS Commission, received Mr Christophe Lecourtier, Director-General of the French Development Agency (AFD), on Tuesday 27th of October 2026 at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja, as part of his visit to Nigeria.

The purpose of the meeting was to welcome the new management of the ECOWAS Commission, to present its strategic priorities and to strengthen cooperation between the two institutions, particularly in the areas of food security and the development of the dairy sector.

The meeting was attended by His Excellency Mr Gautier Mignot, Ambassador of the European Union to Nigeria and to ECOWAS; Mr Dehpue Yenpea Zuo, Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture at the ECOWAS Commission; Dr Madadozi Tezike, Director of Agriculture and Rural Development at the ECOWAS Commission; and a delegation from the Nigerian Ministry of Livestock Development.

Speaking on behalf of His Excellency General Birame Diop, President of the ECOWAS Commission, Vice-President Ogunjimi thanked Mr Lecourtier for his visit and reaffirmed ECOWAS’s willingness to further develop mutually beneficial cooperation agreements for the Member States and the people of the region.

He emphasised that the Regional Food Security Reserve and the development of the dairy sector are fully in line with ECOWAS’s Vision 2050. These initiatives, he noted, address the essential needs of communities, particularly in terms of food security, job creation for young people, the fight against poverty and strengthening the resilience of local populations.

For his part, Mr Christophe Lecourtier welcomed the long-standing collaboration between AFD and ECOWAS. He reaffirmed the AFD Group’s willingness to strengthen this cooperation, particularly through support for regional food security stocks and organisations implementing dairy projects in West Africa.

Both parties agreed to continue their discussions with a view to identifying concrete areas of partnership to promote sustainable development and regional integration in West Africa.