The ECOWAS Commission, the European Union and GIZ held a technical working session on 24 September 2026 in Abuja to finalise workplans for 13 strategic reforms under the Trade in Services Programme.
The meeting brought together representatives of relevant ECOWAS Directorates, the EU Delegation and GIZ to review and refine detailed workplans developed under the programme, according to a report from the Economic Community of West African States.
It followed earlier technical engagements on the review of the TiSP framework and was aimed at moving the workplans towards finalisation and implementation.
The programme supports regional integration priorities by strengthening trade in services governance, improving regional competitiveness and supporting the implementation of regional commitments under the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Agenda.
The exercise focused on ensuring the proposed interventions are coherent, realistic and aligned with institutional responsibilities and the strategic direction of the 13 reform processes.
In opening remarks, Dr. Hartmut James, Senior Technical Advisor at GIZ, thanked the ECOWAS Commission and other partners for their continued engagement.
He described the session as an important final step towards completing the workplan process and stressed the need for technical feedback from the responsible Directorates so that proposed activities are properly aligned with institutional priorities and responsibilities.
He noted that the next stage would be to validate the workplans and proceed towards implementation.
Mr. Christopher Mensah-Yawson, Acting Principal Programme Officer for Trade Facilitation and Development, said trade in services had grown in importance to regional economic integration and now represents a growing share of intra-regional economic activity.
He said the TiSP was designed to translate this growing importance into concrete actions, and welcomed participants to the session.
Participants reviewed the proposed activities under the 13 strategic reform processes, with attention to priorities, sequencing, timelines, institutional responsibilities and expected results.
They also examined the sequencing and prioritisation of activities through March 2029, identifying areas requiring adjustment and considering interdependencies and implementation considerations across the different reform processes.
The meeting further examined planned achievements against the programme’s outcome and output indicators to check that proposed activities remained aligned with expected results.
The session builds on a broader technical review process begun earlier in 2026.
In June, the ECOWAS Commission, the EU and GIZ reviewed the TiSP Logical Framework to identify implementation gaps, validate priority intervention areas and agree on revisions aimed at strengthening the programme’s effectiveness and strategic relevance.
Through its continued collaboration with the EU and GIZ, the ECOWAS Commission is working to translate the objectives of the Trade in Services Programme into coordinated, measurable and implementable actions.
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