Sierra Leone and the economic community for West African States (ECOWAS)

Abstract

Regional Integration Arrangements and other forms of regional cooperation has been a feature in West African trade policy for over thirty (30) years. This research will however focus on the Economic Community for West African States (ECOWAS). ECOWAS was formed in 1975 and the original treaty of Lagos was signed by fifteen (15) countries, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d‟Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo. Cape Verde then joined ECOWAS in 1977 to make it a group of sixteen (16) however in December 1999 Mauritania left the community to join the Arab Magreb Union (AMU) (Asante,1997). Of the fifteen (15) countries that make up present day ECOWAS, only five (5) that is Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone are English speaking or Anglophone countries. With the exception of Liberia, all the Anglophone ECOWAS countries are former British colonies. Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d‟Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, , Senegal, Togo and Cape Verde are French speaking of francophone countries and Portuguese is the official language of Guinea Bissau . Sierra Leone was a founding member of ECOWAS and still remains in the community. The prime mission of ECOWAS is to promote economic integration in "all fields of economic activity, particularly industry, transport, telecommunications, energy, agriculture, natural resources, commerce, monetary and financial questions, social and cultural matters ....." (http://www.comm.ecowas.in). At the heart of economic activity is trade and in this case fostering trade across borders that is international trade for the common benefit of all its members.