Africa
ECOWAS, the European Union (EU) and the German government is set to officially inaugurate the ECOWAS Peace, Security Architecture and Operations (EPSAO) Project.
A statement by the ECOWAS Commission on Thursday said that the project would seek to prevent and manage conflicts and security threats in the West African sub-region.
According to the statement, the project will be implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ GmbH) and officially inaugurated on Friday in Abuja.
It added that the project would also seek to strengthen ECOWAS’ mechanisms to promote and maintain peace and stability and post-crisis operations with a view to enabling the sub-region to manage erupting or existing conflicts.
“The project is in line with the 2014 Africa-EU Roadmap, in which the both sides pledged to increase cooperation in addressing the root causes of conflict and cross-cutting issues of common concern such as terrorism.
“Co-funded by the European Union, the project is under the Regional Indicative Programme/11th European Development Fund (RIP/11th EDF) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
“The four years project, with a total budget of 20.400.000 euros, closely works with the ECOWAS Commission, Member States, and civil society groups to enhance regional capacities.
“Responses in the fields of mediation, peace support operations and security sector reform.
“It supports the establishment of early warning/early response centres in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Togo and Guinea.
“Thus bridging national and regional efforts to identify and mitigate conflicts as early as possible. “
It said that the project would also enhance cooperation and coordination between the ECOWAS Commission and its regional Training Centres of Excellence and Training Institutions (TCEs/TIs).
“The project will assist ECOWAS with promoting its Security Sector Reform, Governance policy and providing guidance to Member States who are involved in processes towards the reform of their security sectors.” (NAN)
– Oct 10, 2019 @ 18:25 GMT |
Tags: ECOWAS EU German govt to inaugurate regional peace security projects
