Conference to debate Morocco's accession to ECOWAS set for May 15

Morocco doesn't share border with any of the 15 ECOWAS countries but has its trade partners in W/A

The Amadeus Institute is set to continue its dialogue and debate series on Morocco's decision to rejoin the West African body, ECOWAS.

The conference is third of its kind after previous meetings in Dakar, Senegal and Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

It is aimed at bringing all relevant stakeholders together to interact and debate the opportunities, concerns and issues that may arise with the accession of Morocco to ECOWAS.

Over 50 distinguished speakers, including business operators, policymakers, politicians, experts and civil society leaders from Morocco, Ghana, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia and Sierra-Leone will address the gathering under the 'Chatham House Rule'.

The Accra conference is being organised by independent Moroccan think tank, Amadeus Institute in partnership with IMANI.

The event will take place on May 15th at Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel Accra on the theme, “Morocco’s Accession to ECOWAS: Towards a strengthening of the West African community”.

Background

Morocco officially expressed its will to join ECOWAS as a full member in February 2017.

The request has been agreed in principle by the community’s Heads of State in June 2017 but the leaders' meeting in Liberia said the implications of its membership still needed to be considered before Morocco could formally join.

Morocco's application comes after it rejoined the African Union in January.