Regional integration in West Africa: challenges and prospects

Abstract

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was established, on 28 May 1975, by the Lagos Treaty, which brought together all the countries of West Africa. It is the oldest Regional Economic Community (REC) in Africa. It constituted a major building block in the adoption the Lagos Plan of Action (LPA) as a necessary development strategy based on the full utilization of the region's resources in building self-reliant economies. The objectives assigned to the ECOWAS by this initial treaty were, at the beginning, essentially economic in focus: to promote cooperation and development in all fields of economic activity, accelerated and sustained economic development of member states through effective economic cooperation, and the progressive integration of economies. Several initiatives undertaken after the establishment of ECOWAS helped to strengthen its institutional architecture and to deepen its common policies, thereby resulting in significant achievements in the sub-regional integration process. The present issues paper provides an assessment of regional integration in West Africa, beginning with an overview of the state of regional integration as evaluated through the African regional integration index. It goes on to provide an analysis of challenges and prospects in key dimensions of regional integration. Finally, the paper puts forward policy issues and key questions for discussion.