WAES: West African Leaders Make Bold Push for Regional Prosperity

Abuja recently witnessed a beehive of activities as politicians, business leaders and experts  gathered for the West Africa Economic Summit (WAES)  to confront a shared challenge on how to unlock the region’s vast economic potential, writes Emmanuel Addeh.

Hosted by Nigeria under the theme: “Unlocking Trade and Investment Opportunities in the Region,” the summit came at a moment of both regional strain and unprecedented opportunity, as West Africa moves to assert itself as a cohesive and competitive economic bloc.

For a region often caught between unrealised potential and policy inertia, WAES 2025 offered something rare: the sense that a genuine shift may finally be underway. President Bola Tinubu, in his opening address, declared that the time had come for West Africa to stop operating as fragmented economies and start building shared prosperity.

Beyond lofty rhetoric, the summit focused on hard numbers, policy commitments, and practical solutions, from regional infrastructure and investment reforms to youth empowerment and digital integration.

Setting the tone for the two-day event, Tinubu stated that the time had come for West Africa to become a coherent, competitive economic bloc, capable of generating wealth not just for today, but for generations. The point was made succinctly:  That regional cooperation is no longer a political ideal, but an economic necessity.

The summit focused heavily on transforming West Africa from a loose collection of economies into an integrated market as several participants spoke openly about the limitations of the current structure.

Attendees agreed that intra-African trade remains painfully low as poor infrastructure, overlapping regulations, and uncoordinated trade policies continue to stunt regional growth, even as countries sit atop rich natural and human capital.

A highlight of the event was the unveiling of the WAES Deal Room, a platform designed to match governments and private investors with high-impact projects across the sub-region, where over $400 million in investment pledges spanning agriculture, logistics, digital infrastructure, and clean energy was pledged. 

Throughout the sessions, the need to harmonise transport, customs, and energy infrastructure was a recurring theme. Regional transport corridors like the long-planned Lagos–Abidjan highway were cited as key to easing trade flow and lowering the cost of doing business. Ministers pledged renewed political will to fast-track such projects.

By the time the summit closed, a joint communiqué was signed, committing countries to deepen cooperation on trade facilitation, regional infrastructure, and access to finance, with clear timelines, and mutual obligations.

In the end, the document now known as the ‘Garki Declaration on Regional Prosperity and Integration’, a comprehensive, forward-looking policy document designed to unlock trade, mobilise investment, and turn West Africa’s long-discussed potential into shared, measurable prosperity was unanimously adopted.

Beyond Symbolism

The Garki Declaration, formally adopted at the close of WAES 2025, was seen not as just  a mere communiqué, but a 12-point blueprint outlining precise, time-bound, and actionable goals for transforming West Africa’s economic trajectory. The declaration addressed long standing-structural issues, ranging from weak intra-regional trade to poor infrastructure, lack of harmonised regulations, and underinvestment in youth and women.

At the heart of the document was a reaffirmation that regional integration is not optional, but essential. With intra-African trade still hovering around 13 per cent, far lower than the over 60 per cent seen in the European Union (EU), the declaration called for bold reforms to dismantle tariff and non-tariff barriers, harmonise customs procedures, and fully implement existing instruments.

Some of the instruments include the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS) and the Common External Tariff. In an ambitious yet pointed target, the signatories committed to raising intra-West African trade above 50 per cent within five years.

In practical terms, this means simplifying border processes, standardising trade data systems, and streamlining the movement of goods and people. Plans were also laid out to synchronise digital identity systems across West Africa, an initiative aimed at easing mobility, boosting cross-border commerce, and promoting financial inclusion.

Institutionalising WAES

Perhaps one of the most strategic outcomes of the summit was the formal institutionalisation of WAES itself. Going forward, the summit will become a biennial event, rotating among West African countries. 

More than a talk-shop, it is envisioned as a recurring platform for regional economic coordination, bringing together governments, business leaders, and development financiers to assess progress, refresh goals, and broker new investment partnerships.

To sustain momentum, a high-level WAES Implementation Secretariat will be created, tasked with tracking delivery of resolutions and ensuring accountability across borders. In a region often hamstrung by follow-through gaps, the mechanism could be a critical tool for turning political will into tangible outcomes.

Agric, Infrastructure, Others 

The Garki Declaration placed strong emphasis on key economic sectors. Agriculture and food security featured prominently, with calls to scale up investment in seed technology, rural infrastructure, and agro-processing to reduce reliance on imports and build self-sufficiency. Governments agreed to work with the private sector to develop integrated value chains that can lift millions out of poverty while also driving industrialisation.

In energy and mining, the focus shifted to value addition, ensuring that raw materials extracted in the region are processed within the region. The declaration also reaffirmed commitments to improving electricity access and pushing forward long-delayed projects like the West African Power Pool (WAPP) and West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP), both of which have suffered from political and technical bottlenecks.

Equally important , according to the summiteers, was the plan to expand digital infrastructure, with regional leaders pledging to make the digital economy a central pillar of West Africa’s economic transformation. From e-commerce to digital ID systems and regional fintech interoperability, digital innovation was recognised as the fastest path to both inclusion and competitiveness.

Youth and Women Issues

A striking shift in tone at WAES 2025 was the central role of youth and women in the regional economic agenda. In a continent where over 60 per cent of the population is under 25, leaders made an explicit commitment to invest in skills development, digital literacy, entrepreneurship, and youth-led innovation.

Regional startup incubators and targeted funding mechanisms were proposed, alongside the establishment of a “Youth Innovation Index” to track how well countries are enabling young people to participate in and benefit from economic growth. Youth-led businesses that participated in the Summit’s Innovation Expo received special recognition, with the aim of building a pipeline of investible, regionally scalable ventures.

On women, the declaration took a firm stance. It pledged to dismantle the structural barriers that limit access to finance, markets, and cross-border opportunities. Gender-responsive policies will now be mainstreamed into all aspects of regional economic cooperation, from trade facilitation to taxation and land ownership laws.

Financing West Africa’s Future

Recognising that all plans hinge on access to capital, the Garki Declaration strongly endorsed both domestic and foreign investment. Signatories agreed to improve the business environment by reviewing investment regimes, protecting investor rights, and ensuring policy stability. A dedicated West Africa Deal Room Platform will be established to facilitate continued engagement between governments and private investors, particularly those from the West African diaspora and domestic private sector.

There was also an acknowledgment that development cannot be financed solely through aid or foreign direct investment. Leaders pledged to create incentives that allow local entrepreneurs, diaspora investors, and regional financial institutions to play a leading role in mobilising capital for growth.

Commitment to Peace & Stability

Perhaps the most quietly powerful element of the declaration was its final section, an acknowledgment that without peace, democratic governance, and macroeconomic stability, economic transformation will remain elusive. 

The declaration stressed the importance of harmonised fiscal regimes, improved natural resource governance, and sustained dialogue among countries, including those currently outside ECOWAS’s institutional framework.

Significantly, despite recent ECOWAS withdrawals by countries like Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, all West African nations were invited to the summit. This gesture underlined a belief that economic cooperation must remain above political fracture and that the door to reintegration must always remain open.

Digital Identity & Regional Trade

One of the most forward-looking moments at the WAES 2025 came during the keynote address by Nigeria’s Director-General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Dr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote. 

In her remarks titled: “Digital Identity and Trade in West Africa,” she framed identity not as a bureaucratic function but as essential economic infrastructure, noting that when citizens can move across borders with a recognised and verifiable identity, they can trade, access services, and participate meaningfully in regional growth.”

Coker-Odusote highlighted the urgent need to bridge the identity gap that still affects millions across the region, particularly in fragile states. With over 120 million Nigerians now registered under the NIN system, Nigeria, she said,  is positioning itself as a continental leader in digital identity infrastructure. 

She proposed a five-pronged strategy, urging regional governments, identity agencies, ECOWAS, the private sector, and civil society to align behind a unified framework. In her vision, a harmonised digital identity would not only accelerate financial inclusion and formal trade, it would become the very foundation upon which a truly integrated West African economy could be built.

While formal intra-ECOWAS trade hovers around 10 per cent 15 per cent, she argued that informal flows led by small-scale traders, transporters, and vendors are much higher but go unrecorded, untaxed, and unsupported due to lack of verifiable identity. 

“West Africa’s trade landscape is dynamic but underutilised. While official data from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) shows only 10–15 per cent of trade is intra-regional, informal commerce could raise that figure significantly. Annual trade within ECOWAS averages about $208 billion, with Nigeria accounting for roughly 76 per cent of regional flows. 

“Institutions like ECOWAS, the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), and initiatives such as the West African Competitiveness Observatory aim to reduce trade barriers and harmonise customs procedures.

“Harmony, however, can only be fully realised when we go beyond shared culture, languages, music, and cuisine, and begin to commonise our identity in digital terms. A unified digital identity system is an economic and developmental imperative to our regional growth. 

“When citizens can move across borders with a recognised and verifiable identity, they can trade, access services, establish trust in new markets, and participate meaningfully in regional growth. Digital identity strengthens trade by making the informal visible, reducing fraud, and enabling access to financial services, logistics, and government programs across national boundaries,” she maintained.

But the crux of her message was regional. While countries like Ghana, Senegal, and Côte d’Ivoire have made strides in biometric enrolment and identity integration, others such as Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone still face significant gaps in infrastructure and institutional readiness. This uneven landscape, she warned, undermines trust and fluidity in cross-border trade. 

Coker-Odusote laid out a five-point strategy to harmonise identity systems across West Africa. She called on governments to treat digital identity as infrastructure, just as essential as roads or ports.

She urged identity management agencies to adopt shared technical standards and support each other through knowledge exchange. She challenged ECOWAS and WAEMU to institutionalise digital identity coordination through a dedicated working group and a regional charter. 

The private sector, particularly fintechs, banks, and telecoms, she said, must embrace digital ID as the cornerstone of onboarding and verification. Lastly, she implored civil society and traditional leaders to bridge the trust gap by driving grassroots awareness and promoting digital literacy.

A New Beginning

The tone in Garki was one of urgency, but also clarity. After years of piecemeal progress and stalled regional projects, WAES 2025 and the Garki Declaration offered something the region has long needed: a shared, measurable framework anchored in political will. The challenge ahead will henceforth be execution. But for now, the message is clear, that West Africa is done waiting.

As the summit drew to a close, one phrase that seemed to have echoed through the halls was: “A prosperous West Africa is possible if we act together, boldly and now.”