ECOWAS President lauds outing US Ambassador

ECOWAS Commission President Kadré Ouédraogo has commended outgoing US Ambassador to Nigeria Terence McCulley for his contribution to the achievements recorded by ECOWAS during his tenure, particularly in the area of peace and security in the region.

Receiving the envoy on his valedictory visit to the Commission on Tuesday, the President expressed the region’s “appreciation of the exemplary cooperation” enjoyed by ECOWAS with the envoy and the US government during his tenure.

“You are still in our zone and we remain available to continue working together for our mutual benefit,” the ECOWAS Commission quoted President Ouedraogo as telling Ambassador McCulley, who is moving to Cote d’Ivoire from Nigeria

President Ouedraogo also informed him about the adoption of a common external tariff in the region which, he said, should provide additional incentive to foreign investors to explore the benefits of the regional market of some 300 million people by producing in the region.

Earlier, Ambassador McCulley commended ECOWAS for its recent successes in resolving the political crises in Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea Bissau and Mali, saying that working with the organisation has given him a better appreciation of the region.

He delivered a letter of invitation to President Ouédraogo to a trade and investment forum being organised in the US in August that will expose opportunities for investment and trade in the region to US investors.

The envoy said the forum would provide a platform for interaction between US and West African private sector actors on investment opportunities in the region, in the spirit of the interest by the US government to improve investments in Africa.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *