ECOWAS and Germany have opened a new partnership format, with ECOWAS Commission Vice President Anthony Oluwatosin Ogunjimi reaffirming the bloc’s commitment to deepening cooperation with Germany at the first session in Abuja.
The meeting, held in Abuja on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, was attended by Germany’s Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Stefan Rossel, and a delegation from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) that included Ms. Karen Pfundt, Head of Division, West Africa II.
Representatives of GIZ and directors and senior officials of the ECOWAS Commission were also present.
Ogunjimi described the meeting as the inauguration of a new “strategic dialogue,” a term he said replaces the traditional concept of “consultation” to reflect a shift toward deeper, more open and constructive cooperation between the two sides.
Germany has been a partner to ECOWAS since 1985 and has committed approximately 494 million euros in bilateral technical and financial cooperation, according to the commission.
A further 49 million euros was committed for the 2025–2026 period during negotiations in November 2025, split between 32.8 million euros of financial cooperation and 16.2 million euros of technical cooperation.
Speaking on behalf of the President of the ECOWAS Commission, General Birame Diop, Ogunjimi thanked the German government for what he called its unwavering partnership and long-standing support to the regional community and the people of West Africa.
He acknowledged that German development budgets are currently under significant pressure from national budget reallocations in favour of defence, while welcoming the orientation of Germany’s new Africa policy, which ties development cooperation more closely to economic, security and foreign policy interests and places the private sector at the centre.
The dialogue took place two months after new leadership assumed office at the helm of the ECOWAS Commission.
Ogunjimi said the new team is determined to consolidate and expand the partnership, a commitment he said was also reaffirmed the previous week in Abuja during discussions with a delegation from the German Parliament.
During the talks, the commission highlighted what it described as the assets of the ECOWAS space: a common market of more than 400 million inhabitants, its Common External Tariff, its attractiveness for trade and investment, and the opportunities offered by the African Continental Free Trade Area.
German investors were invited to seize regional opportunities as the organisation steps up efforts to remove non-tariff barriers, facilitate cross-border trade, digitise trade procedures and expand e-commerce across the region.
Ogunjimi said the ECOWAS Commission is committed to facilitating dialogue and partnerships between German investors and its member states.
He also expressed high expectations for the German-African Business Summit scheduled in Ghana in 2026, which he said would provide a platform to strengthen trade partnerships and promote concrete investment opportunities, and encouraged Germany to continue advocating within the European Union for stronger economic engagement with West Africa and improved market access for regional exports.
“We value Germany’s consistent support and view the country as a key strategic partner in advancing regional integration, peace, security, and sustainable development in West Africa,” Ogunjimi said.
Pfundt and Rossel, for their part, reaffirmed Germany’s commitment to further supporting ECOWAS’s efforts to address regional challenges and promote peace, security and stability across the region.
The agenda also covers trade, sustainable infrastructure and regional challenges and their implications for development cooperation, alongside priorities for future cooperation.
Governance and conflict prevention priorities for the next four years, strengthening donor coordination through ECOWAS, promoting civil society as a partner for peace and stability, and mainstreaming the “climate-human mobility” nexus are among the topics listed for discussion.
Participants were also due to exchange views on boosting ECOWAS’s contribution to greater regional integration of value chains, ways to strengthen ownership of quality regional infrastructure, the contribution of German development cooperation to regional Ebola pandemic prevention, future priorities in the health sector, and upcoming bilateral negotiations.
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