ECOWAS Head of States name single currency ECO, note increased economic growth in sub-region

The Authority of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Heads of States and Government have noted an increase in economic growth of the West African region, due to a surge in agricultural input and investment to infrastructure.

In the communique issued during the closed door meeting held by the members of the ECOWAS states during the ECOWAS Summit of Heads of State and Government, it was remarked that economic growth increased to 3.1 per cent in 2018 with a projection of 3.4 per cent in 2019.

The commission also mentioned the progress in implementing the roadmap of the single currency, and revealed that the adopted single ECOWAS currency had been named “ECO.”

The new Chairperson of the Authority, President Mahamadou Issoufou also said that according to the revised roadmap, the single currency will be issued in January 2020.

“The Authority adopts a flexible exchange rate regime together with a monetary policy framework centered on inflation target “ECO” which was also adopted as the name of the single ECOWAS currency,” the communique read.

In terms of the insecurity plaguing the sub-region, the Heads of States underlined the need for effective exchange of information and intelligence among member states to combat terrorism in the region.

An Extraordinary Summit on terrorism has also been scheduled to hold in Burkina Faso, to review the various initiatives taken thus far and decide on a priority intervention to curb the spread of the attacks across the West African region.