West African Leaders have started arriving in Accra to attend the 27th Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) which opens on Friday.

The President of the National Transitional Government of Liberia, Mr Gyude Bryant was the first to arrive and was followed by President Mateau Kerekou of Benin.

The Guinean Prime Minister, Amin Sidine and the Prime Minister of Burkina Faso, Ernest Yonnie Panamanga followed.

Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama, Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku, Minister of Regional Cooperation and NEPAD and other government officials were at the airport to meet them.

They took the ECOWAS Salute and inspected a guard of honour mounted by a detachment of the 48 Engineers Regiment under the command of Captain Richard Kinnin and formed by three officers and 90 men.

The Summit would elect its chairman. President John Agyekum Kufuor, who currently chairs the regional body, would end his first term this year. He is eligible for re-election for one more year. It would among its deliberations, review the report of the Convergence Council on the performance of the economies of Member States in relation to their monetary programme.
The Heads of States would consider the report on the implementation of the second monetary zone as well as the report of the Foreign Ministers meeting.

ECOWAS Summit opens on Friday

Accra, Dec. 18, GNA - The 27th Summit of the Authority of Heads of State and Governments of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) takes place in Accra on Friday, December 19.
ECOWAS Chairman President John Agyekum Kufuor of Ghana would preside over the meeting, which would among other things, discuss reports on the on-going Ministerial meetings, the regional economy and the general security situation in the Sub-Region.
Mr Kwabena Agyei Agyepong, Press Secretary to the President and Presidential Spokesman, in a statement on Thursday said the meeting would begin at 1000 hours at the Accra International Conference Centre.

ECOWAS calls for acceleration of deployment of UN Force in Liberia

Accra, Dec. 18, GNA - ECOWAS Foreign Minister on Thursday called on the United Nations to accelerate the deployment of UNMIL Forces throughout Liberia in order to secure the country and ensure the successful implementation of the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) process in the country.
The Ministers made call at the end of their preparatory meeting to the 27th Ordinary Summit of the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Governments scheduled for Friday, December 19, 2003 in Accra. Attending the meeting were eight Foreign Ministers from Ghana, Burkina Faso, Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Togo, while Ministers for Regional Integrations, represented the remaining member countries.
Briefing the ECOWAS Summit Press Corps at the end of the meeting, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Ghana' Foreign Minister, said additional troops were needed in order to enable UNMIL to effectively fulfil its mandate and commended ECOMIL for its role in stabilizing the situation prior to the deployment of the UN Force.
He reiterated ECOWAS request to the United Nations to transform its West African Peace Mission currently in La Cote d'Ivoire.
Nana Akufo-Addo, who currently chairs the Group of Foreign Ministers, said: "It is expected that the UN would pave the way for the realisation of ECOWAS' aspirations of blue-helmeted ECOMICI (ECOWAS Mission in Cote d'Ivoire), which would be the surest way of speeding up the implementation of the Linas-Marcoussis Accord".
On Sierra Leone the meeting, he said, acknowledged the positive developments in that country and the reduction of tension but called on the international community to provide additional support to enable the country to address the twin problems of education and unemployment. The assistance should focus on the resuscitation of the economy in order to create more jobs and business opportunities.
The Foreign Ministers also praised the Heads of States and Governments for creating a small arms unit and a military mission-planning cell at the Executive Secretariat.
He said the creation of peace funds with contributions by Member States and partners to enable the Sub-Region to cope with the financial requirements of maintaining peace and security in West Africa. Nana Akufo-Addo said the Ministers also called on the Heads of States and Governments to submit nominations to the 15-member Council of Elders and approved the new composition of the 10-member Mediation and Security Council.
The Members include Benin; Burkina Faso; Cote d'Ivoire; Ghana; Guinea; Liberia; Mali; Nigeria; Senegal and Sierra Leone.
He said the Ministers also considered the implementation of the Mechanism on Conflict Prevention, Management, Resolution, Peacekeeping and Security, the role of women in conflict resolution, the plan of action against trafficking in persons and a declaration on child protection.

More ECOWAS Leaders arrive for Summit

Accra, Dec. 18, GNA - More West African Leaders have arrived in Accra to attend the 27th Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) which opens on Friday.
The latest arrivals include President Gnassigbe Eyadima of Togo and President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria.
Vice President Aliu Mahama and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Foreign Minister and other Government Officials and members of the Diplomatic Corps were at the airport to meet them. 18 Dec. 03