China to support West African Nations, breaks ground on headquarters on ECOWAS

By Dana Malcolm

Staff Writer

#Africa, December 6, 2022 – The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and China are partnering to build a new state of the art headquarters for ECOWAS called the Eye of West Africa.  According to reports by Channels TV a groundbreaking ceremony for the building was held on December 4th  Abuja, Nigeria where the building will be constructed.

The brand new headquarters will consolidate all ECOWAS operations including the ECOWAS Commission, the Community Court of Justice and the Parliament into one solid location instead of three separate ones as is currently the case.  Muhammadu Buhari, President of Nigeria was onsite for the groundbreaking along with delegates from other African states and China’s Ambassador to Nigeria Cui Jianchun.  Buhari told the gathered reporters.

“The new complex will represent the unity and brotherhood of the member states as well as signify a recommitment to process and regional integration.”

Sunday’s start to construction on the Eye which is slated to be complete in just over two years was as a result of a deal signed between ECOWAS and the People’s Republic of China in 2019 after seven years of negotiations.

ECOWAS says the deal “is part of China’s assistance towards the strengthening of ECOWAS-China cooperation through concrete commitments made by China to the financing and building of the region’s infrastructure.”

The 15 Members of ECOWAS are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.