Africa
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The Economic Community of West Africa States has accredited nine new ambassadors from different countries and urged them to support its effort to fight Ebola in the region
THE event was for the accreditation of nine new ambassadors to the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS. But Kadré Desire Ouédraogo, president of the ECOWAS Commission seized the opportunity to advocate for more international support for the regional Ebola response. He also called for a coordinated approach to the ongoing efforts to defeat the scourge which has claimed some 5,000 lives from the more than 10,000 cases reported mainly in West Africa since March 2014. “At ECOWAS, with the strong political commitment of our leaders, we are trying our best, and we can achieve greater success with more support from partners,” Ouedraogo said.
During the brief separate ceremonies in Abuja, on Tuesday, October 28, the president informed the envoys that the West African Health Organization, WAHO, the ECOWAS specialised health agency has already deployed staff to the affected countries while efforts were being intensified to deploy more health workers on ground.
He pointed out that for the effective coordination and consolidation of the regional Ebola response, ECOWAS partners have been invited to the extra-ordinary summit called by Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama, chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government, in Accra on November 6, to be preceded by a ministerial coordinating group meeting also in the Ghanaian capital.
Receiving the Letters of Credence of William Azumah Awinador-Kanyirige, Ghanaian envoy, President Ouédraogo enjoined him to convey the profound gratitude of the commission and other Community Institutions to the ECOWAS chairman for his leadership and support.
Awinador-Kanyirige, who was director of cabinet to Mohamed Ibn Chambas, former ECOWAS Commission President, described his accreditation as a home coming, and pledged to work for the realisation of the regional integration objectives.
Accrediting the Guinean Ambassador Gaoussou Touré, Ouédraogo expressed the solidarity of the community to the Government and people of Guinea and other countries affected by Ebola, expressing the hope that the disease would soon be defeated through concerted and coordinated efforts.
Michael Zenner, German Ambassador, who was the first to present his Letters described ECOWAS as the “most advanced Regional Economic Community” in Africa, and promised to work for the deepening of cooperation between his country and the region.
Ouédraogo thanked Germany for its support to ECOWAS and expressed optimism that the excellent relations would be taken to a higher level.
He conveyed the same message to Alfonso Sebastian de Erice, Spanish Ambassador, commending Spain for supporting the region in the fields of immigration, solar energy and infrastructure development among others, while acknowledging the success of the 2009 ECOWAS-Spain summit. For his part, the Ambassador said his country would continue to advocate for ECOWAS at different fora and assist the region in overcoming its challenges including the Ebola outbreak.
Accrediting Mustafa Pulat, Turkish Ambassador, the ECOWAS President accepted the government’s invitation to visit Turkey and praised the country for its role in finding a lasting solution to the crises in the Middle-East. The envoy in turn lauded ECOWAS for its response to the Ebola outbreak, which he described as a global challenge.
The other accredited foreign envoys who also pledged to work for enhanced cooperation and partnership with ECOWAS, were Sean Hoy of Ireland, Madam Pirjo Soumela-Chowodhury of Finland, Peingeondjabi Shipoh of Namibia and Parmena Makuet Mangar Riak, South Sudan’s first ambassador to be accredited to ECOWAS.
— Nov. 10, 2014 @ 01:00 GMT
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