The Economic Community of West African States has organised a three-day workshop on the Assessment and Harmonisation of Border and Immigration Training Standards in member states.
ECOWAS Commission, through its Directorate of Free Movement of Persons and Migration, organized a Regional Workshop in Praia, Republic of Cabo Verde.
The workshop aimed to assess existing immigration training systems across Member States, evaluate their alignment with ECOWAS frameworks, identify gaps and inconsistencies, and define priority actions toward harmonizing and strengthening training standards across the region.
On behalf of Dr. Omar Alieu Touray, President of the ECOWAS Commission, and
the Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, Dr. Kalilou Sylla, the Director, Free
Movement of Persons, Migration and Tourism; Mr. Albert Siaw-Boateng thanked the Government
and people of the Republic of Cabo Verde for hosting the workshop, as well as IOM and ICMPD for supporting its organization. He recalled the ECOWAS Protocol on Free Movement of Persons, Residence and Establishment as a key regional instrument underpinning mobility within the Community, and underscored the importance of harmonizing training standards and procedures across Member States. He noted uneven implementation amongst Member States, citing limited progress in the implementation and acceptance of the ECOWAS National Biometric Identity Card (ENBIC) as a key challenge.
In his welcome address, the representative from the host country, Cabo Verde, Mr. Manuel
Nascimento, Director, Migration Services and Border, welcomed participants to Praia and
encouraged active engagement for productive discussions.
In attendance were representatives from the Training Academies from all ECOWAS Member
States as well as representatives from Specialized Training Academies, officials from the
ECOWAS Directorate of Free Movement of Persons, Migration, and Tourism, International
Organization for Migration (IOM) and International Centre for Migration Policy Development
(ICMPD).
