ECOWAS leaders order Mali groups to disarm - To start process of dialogue

The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Mr Kadre Desire Ouedraogo, read the communique at the closing ceremony of the session in Yamoussoukro Thursday.

At the closing ceremony, President John Mahama and his fellow Presidents signed the various acts which emanated from the session.

The communique called for the transformation of the African-led International Support Mission to Mali (AFISMA) into a peacekeeping force in Mali and agreed on $950 million as the budget to support the operations in Mali.

On Guinea Bissau, the authority agreed on the road map for the conduct of elections in that country by the end of the year and consequently extended the mandate of the transitional authority to the end of the election.

The communique asked the African Union (AU) to lift the ban on Guinea Bissau to enable it to regain its diplomatic status on the continent.

The communique approved the increase of the ECOWAS Commission's membership from 13 to 15 and welcomed efforts at building infrastructure, energy and the rail sector.

The communique called for efforts to implement the protocols on the movement of people and goods in the sub-region.

It endorsed the candidature of Ghana's former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni, as the Secretary General of the Africa, Pacific and Caribbean (ACP) countries.

That followed his nomination by President John Dramani Mahama to complete the remaining two years of the five-year tenure of Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas, who has been appointed the United Nations Special Representative to Darfur.

The ECOWAS Heads of State and Government also endorsed the candidature of Ghana's former Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Alan Kyerematen, as the Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Meanwhile, the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS has renewed the mandate of the Chairman of the authority, President Alassan Ouattara of Côte d'Ivoire, for another one-year term.

It also endorsed the candidature of Nigeria as a non-permanent member of the UN.

Story by Musah Yahaya Jafaru