ECOWAS Commission President General Birame Diop received a UN delegation led by Ambassador Leonardo Santos Simão, UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for West Africa and the Sahel, at the Commission’s Abuja headquarters on 3 November 2026.
According to a statement from the Economic Community of West African States, both institutions reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening regional cooperation on counter-terrorism, conflict prevention and sustainable peace.
The discussions centred on building collaboration between ECOWAS and UNOWAS through the development of frameworks intended to address terrorism, insecurity and conflict across West Africa and the Sahel.
The two parties also stressed the need for improved communication, regular consultations and stronger channels of engagement between the institutions, which the statement linked to better coordination and a more effective regional response to emerging challenges.
According to the statement, the meeting highlighted closer cooperation between the two bodies on the basis of their complementary mandates and what it described as a shared commitment to peace, security and development.
The parties raised the need to ensure UNOWAS’s continued engagement in high-level meetings and strategic discussions, with the stated aim of promoting policy alignment and coordinated interventions.
Other subjects on the agenda included irregular migration, particularly its impact on African youth; growing insecurity and terrorism; and boundary demarcation as a means of improving cross-border relations.
The talks also covered water resource management for human consumption, livestock and agricultural development.
Both institutions called for increased advocacy, public awareness and citizen sensitisation on peacebuilding, conflict prevention and resilience-building, citing what they described as the critical role of communities in sustaining peace and stability.
The statement said the visit reaffirmed the shared resolve of ECOWAS and the United Nations to deepen institutional cooperation and advance collective efforts towards a peaceful, secure and prosperous West Africa and the Sahel.
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