The Commission of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS Commission) has emphasised the need for Africa to build indigenous defence cooperation and mechanisms.

The call was made at the ongoing Africa International Defence Exhibition (AFRIDEX), holden between October 26 and 30 in Lagos, Nigeria.

President, ECOWAS Commission, General Birame Diop, emphasised the importance of building resilience, self-reliance and indigenous defence capabilities to address evolving threats effectively.

He also highlighted ongoing efforts by ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff to deepen regional defence cooperation, strengthen defence-industrial collaboration and explore innovative approaches to financing peace and security initiatives.

Diop underlined that the ongoing efforts by ECOWAS to activate its Standby Force against terrorism, reflects the region’s commitment to collective action, operational readiness and self-reliance in addressing contemporary security challenges.

He expressed appreciation of the regional bloc to Nigeria’s President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for his steadfast commitment to regional peace, security and integration agenda.

General Diop described AFRIDEX as a timely demonstration of Nigeria’s longstanding leadership in advancing regional peace, security and integration, stressing that the exhibition was coming at a critical time characterised by the complex and challenging security landscape, rapidly changing geopolitical environment landscape, critical technologies and limited access to defence equipment.

He therefore called for support to initiatives such as AFRIDEX and the efforts of institutions such as Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON).