Secretary-General Hails Decision by Joint Summit of Central, West African States to Sign Criminal Cooperation Agreement by Year’s End

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary‑General António Guterres:

The Secretary-General commends the Central and West African regions for their successful joint summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) on peace, security, stability and the fight against terrorism and violent extremism, which took place in Lomé, Togo, on 30 July 2018.

The Secretary‑General welcomes the renewed commitment of ECCAS and ECOWAS member States to strengthen cooperation on key peace and security challenges, and is particularly encouraged by the decision to sign a criminal cooperation agreement by the end of 2018 and to establish a ministerial committee to monitor implementation of the summit decisions.  He also welcomes the decision of the Heads of State and Government of the two regions to hold consultations in the margins of the ordinary summit of the African Union in January, and to meet every two years to review implementation of the decisions contained in the Lomé Declaration adopted at the joint summit.

The Secretary‑General reiterates the commitment of the United Nations to continue to promote interregional cooperation and support the implementation of the decisions adopted by the ECCAS‑ECOWAS summit.