Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku, ECOWAS Commissioner for Macroeconomic Policy and Economic Research, has hailed the ECOWAS Vision 2050 draft document.

He noted that the document, which is a successor to the ECOWAS Vision 2020, outlined a very clear vision, hope and aspirations for the people of the West Africa sub region.

He reiterated that the ECOWAS Vision 2050 document provided a very good beginning for the Community to move on to become what the people wished for themselves.

Dr Apraku gave the commendation at the closing session of a three-day meeting of the National Experts to validate the Draft ECOWAS Vision 2050.

The ECOWAS Vision 2020, which has the ambition of transforming ECOWAS from an ECOWAS of States to an ECOWAS of peoples, expired last year (2020).

In view of this, the ECOWAS Vision 2050 is needed to provide the Region, for the coming years, with a new and a medium-term strategic plan that takes into account the new development dynamics of the moment.

The ECOWAS Vision 2050 will be adopted by the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government in December 2021, however, its implementation will begin in January 2023.

The vision statement of the ECOWAS Vision 2050 states: "A fully integrated Community of peoples, living in a peaceful and prosperous region, with strong institutions and respect for fundamental rights and freedoms, striving for inclusive and sustainable development".

Dr Apraku said destiny was not a matter of chance but it was a matter of choice, saying "It is when you have made the decisions and implemented them that you will get your ultimate reward".

"So, we have done a good job by giving a vision to ourselves, vision that will help us rise out of our poverty, the challenges of development and become a prosperous community.

"It is our responsibility to actualize the vision in our actions programmes and our activities."

He urged the participants to ensure that in their own small way the ECOWAS Vision 2050 document came to fruition, declaring that, "all of you here, particularly those coming from the planning divisions of our respective ministries, we have to be able to look back some day and say that, not only did we dream but we took the actions that were necessary to realize the dream".

Dr Alhassan Iddrissu of the ECOWAS National Office in Accra, commended the ECOWAS Commission for leading the process in coming out with the ECOWAS Vision 2050 document.

He also urged the participants to support the ECOWAS Commission in ensuring that the relevant stakeholders at the political and technical level of ECOWAS Member States took ownership of the Vision and drove its popularisation in mainstreaming it into their respective national agenda.