Trade: ECOWAS Quality Experts Gather in Lomé for Key Meeting

Economic governance
Friday, 01 September 2023 16:43
Trade: ECOWAS Quality Experts Gather in Lomé for Key Meeting

(Togo First) - The ECOWAS Community Committee for Conformity Assessment (ECOCONF) is currently meeting in Lomé to examine mechanisms to facilitate the free movement of goods within the community. 

"We will be working on the rules for mandating, but also on the regional recognition of the various conformity assessment bodies," said Olga Kouassi, Director of the ECOCONF’s Standards and Audit Office, and the Committee’s representative in Ivory Coast. "For this regional market to be assessed and inspected at the company level in each country, it is essential that inspection rules are harmonized, enabling each country to recognize certificates issued," she added.

The meeting opened on August 31 and on the occasion, the Togolese and Beninese winners of the second edition of the ECOWAS Quality Award were unveiled. The recipients include École Supérieure des Affaires (ESA), Cabinet Audit Expertise Comptable, both carried by Dr. Charles Birregah, from Togo, and Best Expert Conseil, from Benin, reports the Savoir News agency

To implement the reforms, ECOCONF is supported by the West African Competitiveness and Quality Infrastructure Project (WACOMP). Deployed by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), and financed by the European Union (EU), the WACOMP aims to boost the competitiveness of SMEs in the 16 countries covered, through the development of value chains (cassava and by-products; mango; textiles and clothing; information and communication technologies (ICT)) for greater production, processing, and export capabilities of the private sector. 

For Togolese stakeholders, the ongoing meeting also aims to harmonize the texts governing product inspection and control in each ECOWAS country, towards the launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). 

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

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