Within the context of a shared commitment to deepening regional and international peace and security partnerships, the ECOWAS Commission and the European Union Commission are holding the first edition of a Structured Dialogue on Conflict Prevention and Peace Mediation in Brussels, Belgium, on January 23, 2024.

The 2-day technical meeting is a follow-up to the ECOWAS-EU Senior Officials Meeting, and the 23rd ECOWAS-EU Ministerial Dialogue held in Brussels, Belgium in January and February 2023 respectively, during which both organizations reiterated their commitment to strengthening regional and international peace and security cooperation in the spirit of equitable partnerships with a view to providing effective and sustainable solutions to political, security, economic, humanitarian, and environmental challenges.

The meeting offers both organisations the opportunity to share experiences and lessons learned in conflict prevention, early warning and peace mediation efforts. It also serves as a platform for brainstorming and identifying concrete programmes to be jointly implemented, including a way forward for an enhanced regional and international peace and security, taking into account, shared principles of complementarity and effective coordination of interventions.

The ECOWAS delegation is led by Ambassador (Dr.) Abdel-Fatau MUSAH, Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, with the participation of Ambassador (Dr.) Hemou Jonas, ECOWAS Permanent Representative to Brussels and other technical staff of the Commission. The Commissioner will use the opportunity to hold bilateral engagements with relevant political stakeholders of the European External Action Services.