The ECOWAS Commission, led by its President, H.E. Dr. Omar Alieu Touray, received this Tuesday, March 12, 2024, at its headquarters, a delegation of senior Spanish officials led by H.E. Diego Martinez Belío, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Spain, as part of the signing of a memorandum of understanding worth 2.5 million euros.

In his opening speech, H.E. Omar Alieu Touray thanked Spain for its commitment to the development of energy infrastructures, agriculture and gender issues.

He praised the ECOWAS-Spain project Women, Peace, and Security in the ECOWAS region, and reminded the audience that all actions must be governed by a strengthening of programs promoting peace and security in the region, because peace and security are the conditions for stability and sustainable development in the ECOWAS region.

In his opening speech, Mr. Diego Martinez Belío recalled that the memorandum of understanding signed includes a voluntary contribution of 2.565 million euros, and the funds will contribute to the institutional strengthening of ECOWAS, the support of the ECOWAS Gender Development Centre, the Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food (ARAA) in the implementation of the revised food security strategy, and the development of an innovative regional school feeding program. This will enable the creation of 90 school canteens to safely feed 23,860 pupils, mainly in rural and cross-border areas of ECOWAS.

The signing of the memorandum was followed by the launch of the Women, Peace and Security programme and the official launch of spanish language training for ecowas staff.