The Amadeus Institute and IMANI Africa extend the debate in Accra:
“Morocco’s Accession to ECOWAS: Towards a strengthening of the West African community”
Franklin Cudjo, IMANI Center for Policy and Education
Rabat & Accra, May 10th, 2018 – The Amadeus Institute, an independent Moroccan think tank with a solid expertise on African issues, has since March 2018, launched series of dialogue and debate about Morocco’s accession to ECOWAS. The first two were held in Dakar and Abidjan, in partnership with the Senegalese think tank “Agricultural and Rural Prospective Initiative (IPAR)” and the “Ivorian [ads1]Centre for Economic and Social Research” (CIRES).
Today, Amadeus is announcing the third chapter of its West African tour that will be held in Accra, Ghanaian capital city. The dialogue will take place on May 15th at Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel Accra. The Accra Conference is being organized in partnership with the General Confederation of Entrepreneurs of Morocco (CGEM) and the Ghanaian Think Tank IMANI Africa.
Morocco officially expressed its will to join ECOWAS as a full member last February 2017 which has been agreed in principle by the community’s Heads of State in June 2017; however, the absence of debate has been noticed in Morocco as well as in the ECOWAS states. In order to reinforce trust between governments and people, the Amadeus Institute aims to offer a platform for all parties to present their own perspectives.
“The conference in Accra is not expected to endorse Morocco’s bid without asking critical questions about the political and economic challenges and opportunities ECOWAS member states must deal with” commented Franklin Cudjoe, Founding President & CEO of IMANI Africa. The objective of this conference is indeed to listen to the Ghanaian perceptions and analyses regarding Morocco’s accession. The speakers are invited to share their views on the way that process can be implemented without disrupting the West African integrationist synergy but rather, by exploring how we can reinforce this exemplary regional community with the best “win-win” approach.
The Ghanaian Chapter opens a new window by involving ECOWAS English-speaking citizens into this regional initiative. “We need to continue sharing our views and enlarge the debate about the future Kingdom’s accession in the ECOWAS English speaking countries. There are legitimate concerns which are essentially the result of a lack of knowledge in the region regarding the Moroccan approach, built around the notions of mutual respect and balanced relations advocated by His Majesty the King Mohammed VI », said Brahim Fassi Fihri, Chairman of the Amadeus Institute.
The Accra Conference will bring together more than 50 distinguished speakers, including business operators, policymakers, politicians, experts and civil society leaders coming both from Morocco and Ghana, but also from Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia and Sierra-Leone. Throughout the day, four workshops will be held under “Chatham House Rule” to ensure all parties can freely express their opinions.
About the Amadeus Institute
Founded in 2008 and based in Rabat, the Amadeus Institute is an independent Moroccan think tank contributing to public debate in Morocco and Africa. With the aim of raising the voice of southern countries’ concerns, the Amadeus Institute has a twofold function: research and analysis as well as the creation of debates. The Amadeus Institute has been organizing the MEDays Forum in Tangier for 10 years, which has become a reference in Africa, with the participation of 150 speakers and 3000 international participants gathered to analyze the economic and geopolitical issues of Africa and the South. Since its creation and thanks to its activities, the institute has managed to create a multidisciplinary and multicultural network that is expanding, strengthening and renewing from year to year. Today, it is positioned as a laboratory of ideas and as a platform for exchanges, meetings and North-South and South-South cooperation.
About IMANI Africa
IMANI Centre for Policy and Education is a Ghana-based think tank of global repute dedicated to the promotion of the institutions of a free society across Africa. IMANI has been consistently ranked among the top 5 most influential think tanks in sub- Saharan Africa and among the top 100 worldwide by the University of Pennsylvania Go To think tank rankings. IMANI principals have shared insightful perspectives about Africa’s development issues on the BBC, CBC, Swiss and Swedish National TV, Austrian National Radio and varied local Ghanaian media. They have also been published (sometimes quoted) in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Times, London Daily Telegraph, Ghanaian Daily Graphic, San Francisco Chronicle, Ottawa Citizen, South African Star and Business Day and many East and African media.
www.imaniafrica.org
For more information about the conference please visit
www.amadeusonline.org/cedeao/
For media enquiries, please contact:
Amadeus Institute
Isabelle Dana Bilal
isabelle.dana@gmail.com +212 6 56 05 05 05
IMANI
Elvis Aryeh
eayeh@imanighana.org + 23320 9581276