THE President, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS Commission), Dr. Omar Alieu Touray, on Friday, projected a regional economic growth of five per cent in the current year.

Speaking during a meeting with partners, he said the region did not do badly in the previous year with 4.6 per cent growth, outperforming other regions in the African continent.

He said: “The annual report indicates that global economic growth has slowed down in 2025, and although inflation eased relatively, uncertainty remained high. Yet, in the midst of these global headwinds, Africa, our continent, continues to demonstrate remarkable resilience. Growth is recovering, inflation is declining and political stability has improved in a number of regions.
“This resilience is also evident within our own community. In 2025, the region outperformed the continental average with 4.6 per cent growth, and is expected to get to five per cent this year.”
Touray attributed the growth to the various reforms undertaken by the member states.

“This robust performance is driven by structural reforms, rising investment in mining and energy, improvement in regional trade facilitation and a strong rebound in services, transport and tourism.
“Although inflation remains elevated, we have noticed some fall and in some cases, very sharp fall occasioned by coordinated monetary policies and better food supply conditions across member states. Fiscal deficits have narrowed significantly as governments strengthened revenue mobilisation and rationalise public expenditure.”
Touray informed that the regional current account surplus has strengthened, bolstered by high export earnings from oil, gold, bauxite.

He also said that the region has recorded progress in combating organised crime and terrorism.
He added: “Our preoccupation remains with growing insecurity suffered by some areas of the region. Therefore, peace and security remain at the heart of our mandate. In 2025, ECOWAS intensified preventive diplomacy, mediation and democratic support across the region.

“We also continue to address the implications of the withdrawal of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger while keeping our doors open for constructive engagement. Our Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff completed the rotation of ECOWAS Stand-by Force and reinforced preparations for both the ECOWAS Stand-by Force and the 1,650 Strong Counter-Terrorism Brigade. An assessment mission during the year to the Gambia and Guinea Bissau underscored the need for enhanced training, strengthened monitoring and evaluation, as well as a clear exit strategy for ECOWAS missions in both the Gambia and Guinea Bissau.”

“We have also registered progress in combating organised crime and terrorism. The ECOWAS Commission formally took over the West Africa Police Information System after 12 years under Interpol. However, reduced security cooperation with the AES bloc has complicated counter-terrorism efforts.”