By: Matthias F. Larbeindee| Contributing Reporter
Monrovia, Liberia – August 4, 2025 — The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has launched its 2025 Mid-Year Joint Statutory Meetings, bringing together regional monetary and financial institutions to deepen economic and financial integration across the sub-region.
The meetings, which officially commenced on Monday, August 4, 2025, will run virtually through August 18. Convened by key ECOWAS monetary bodies, including the West African Monetary Agency (WAMA), the West African Monetary Institute (WAMI), and the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM), the sessions aim to advance collective strategies on monetary cooperation and macroeconomic policy coordination.
Participants include governors of central banks, senior officials from finance ministries, technical experts, and development partners from across West Africa.
“These statutory meetings, which will virtually be attended by both the Ministry of Finance & Development Planning (MFDP) and the CBL, reaffirm our collective commitment to regional integration and economic transformation,” said Henry F. Saamoi, Executive Governor of the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL). “They provide a platform for evidence-based dialogue and coordinated action to address shared challenges and accelerate the realization of the ECO.”
A series of high-level technical and policy meetings are scheduled, including:
- August 4–6: First Ordinary Joint Meeting of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee of WAMA and the ECOWAS Macroeconomic Policy Technical Committee
- August 7–8: 52nd Meeting of the WAIFEM Technical Committee
- August 11–12: 57th Meeting of the WAMI Technical Committee
- August 14: 66th Ordinary Meeting of the ECOWAS Committee of Governors
- August 15: 54th Meeting of the WAMZ Convergence Council
- August 18: 12th Ordinary Meeting of the ECOWAS Convergence Council of Ministers and Governors
Top on the agenda are deliberations on:
- The 2024 ECOWAS Macroeconomic Convergence Report
- Progress on implementing the ECOWAS Roadmap for monetary integration
- Exchange rate and inflation trends in the sub-region
- The status of the ECOWAS Solidarity and Stabilization Fund
- Developments in the financial sector and regional payment systems
- Preparatory steps toward the launch of the ECOWAS single currency—the ECO—by 2027
The meetings also come amid growing concern over global economic instability, rising inflation, and weakening currencies, particularly within the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ). Stakeholders are expected to explore practical solutions to cushion regional economies and facilitate smoother intra-regional trade.
Decisions emerging from these engagements are expected to shape the next phase of ECOWAS’s monetary integration agenda and bolster the region’s collective economic resilience.
