Dr. Omar Alieu Touray, President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission, called for a reinvigorated focus on strengthening Regional Economic Communities (RECs) during his address at the G20 Ministerial Conference on February 21, 2025.
Speaking in Johannesburg, Touray positioned RECs as critical to fostering global solidarity, equitable development, and resilience against crises, while also issuing a stark warning about the destabilizing potential of artificial intelligence (AI).
Regional Blocs as Pillars of Stability
Touray argued that empowering RECs like ECOWAS is essential to advancing multilateral cooperation, particularly in combating poverty and insecurity. “Debt sustainability isn’t just an economic metric—it’s a tool for peace,” he said, linking financial stability to regional security. Highlighting ECOWAS’s struggles, he noted that mounting debt has delayed the bloc’s long-planned single currency initiative, a project intended to deepen economic integration among its 15 member states.
The ECOWAS chief also tied poverty to radicalization, citing data showing that recruits for extremist groups in West Africa often join out of economic desperation rather than ideology. “Reducing poverty weakens the grip of violence,” he asserted, urging G20 nations to support debt relief frameworks that enable RECs to prioritize inclusive growth.
Disaster Resilience Over Crisis Response
With 10 ECOWAS countries requiring emergency disaster aid between 2022 and 2024, Touray pressed for a shift from reactive aid to proactive resilience-building. He praised South Africa’s G20 presidency for prioritizing disaster preparedness but stressed that climate adaptation funding remains inadequate. “Fairness must guide the energy transition,” he added, calling for equitable financing to help developing nations adopt green technologies without exacerbating debt burdens.
AI
While acknowledging AI’s potential, Touray spotlighted its risks, urging the G20’s AI Task Force to curb its misuse in spreading disinformation. “Fake news threatens social cohesion, especially in fragile regions,” he said, emphasizing that regulation is “about security, not restriction.” ECOWAS, he pledged, would collaborate closely with the G20 to address these challenges.
Touray’s appeal comes amid escalating crises in West Africa, where jihadist violence, political instability, and climate-driven disasters have strained ECOWAS’s unity. Recent coups in member states and withdrawals by Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have further complicated regional governance. His emphasis on RECs reflects a broader African push for self-reliance, as global institutions like the UN struggle to address overlapping crises.
Touray’s speech underscores a pivotal dilemma: RECs like ECOWAS are touted as engines of localized solutions but remain hamstrung by external dependencies. While his call for debt justice and AI vigilance resonates globally, tangible progress hinges on whether G20 nations—many of whom are major creditors—will translate rhetoric into policy. As West Africa grapples with fragmentation, the world’s response to these appeals could determine not just the region’s stability, but the viability of multilateralism itself.
