ECOWAS reaffirms ECO launch 2027

At the 69th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS — EcoWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government held in Lungi, Sierra Leone, on July 19, 2026, West African leaders reaffirmed their commitment to launching the single regional currency, the ECOWAS — Eco, in 2027. The ECOWAS — Eco will be introduced in phases, initially adopted by member states meeting macroeconomic convergence criteria (single-digit inflation, fiscal deficit below 4% of GDP, central bank financing of deficit limited to 10% of previous year's tax revenue, and external reserves covering at least three months of imports). Countries not yet qualifying will receive support to join later. The summit also welcomed the registration of the name 'ECOWAS — Eco' with the Canada — Canadian Intellectual Property Office and directed further trademark protection. Beyond the currency, ECOWAS — EcoWAS addressed security concerns, approving a revised roadmap for the ECOWAS — EcoWAS Counterterrorism Brigade to be fully operational by July 2027, and condemned banditry and kidnappings in northern Nigeria. The bloc extended the mandate of Chief Negotiator Lansana Kouyaté for talks with the Alliance of Sahel States (Burkina Faso, Mali, Nigeria) until December 2026. It condemned xenophobic attacks in South Africa and endorsed Ghana's proposal to bring the issue to the African Union Assembly. On trade, it warned against bilateral agreements undermining the Customs Union. The summit also adopted frameworks on cybersecurity and digital governance, and elected Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye as Chairman of the Authority and General Biram Diop as President of the ECOWAS — EcoWAS Commission for 2026-2030.