“The cooperation with ECOWAS is a priority for the German government”, said the Foreign Minister, Dr. Frank-Walker Stein Meier during his official visit paid to ECOWAS on Monday, October 10, 2016.
After enlightening the areas of cooperation between the two parties, the German Minister raised up the issue of migration. In this regard, he noted that the investments and trade can be powerful factors of job creation and, by extension, fixing migration candidates.
Earlier, in a welcome address to his host, the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Mr. Marcel Alain De Souza mentioned the cordial relations existing between Germany and ECOWAS. He took this opportunity to thank Germany for its support to ECOWAS in the areas of regional integration, poverty reduction, peace and regional security.
Regarding migration, President De Souza revealed that the solution is the economic development, and reduction of population growth in the region. De Souza then added “when the growth rate is higher than the economic growth, poverty can’t be reduced in these conditions”.
Concluding his remarks, President De Souza asked for support to the organization of an ECOWAS-Germany summit within the next two years. He also expressed his wish to increase cooperation projects between Germany and ECOWAS.