FIRST WEST AFRICA REGIONAL WATER FORUM ADOPTS SHARED REGIONAL AGENDA FOR WATER SECURITY, DESIGNATES CABO VERDE TO HOST NEXT EDITION

The First West Africa Regional Water Forum (FREAO), convened by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in partnership with the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) and the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS), concluded in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, on 25 September 2026 with the adoption of the Abidjan Declaration and a shared regional roadmap aimed at strengthening water security, climate resilience and sustainable development across West Africa.

Held under the theme “Valuing Water to Transform West Africa”, the inaugural Forum brought together Heads of Government, ministers, regional institutions, river basin organisations, development partners, academia, the private sector, youth and civil society to forge a common regional vision for the governance, financing and sustainable management of water resources. Participants reaffirmed water as a strategic asset for human development, food security, energy production, public health, environmental sustainability, economic transformation and regional integration, underscoring its centrality to the African Union Agenda 2063, ECOWAS Vision 2050 and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Opening the Forum on behalf of the Government of Côte d’Ivoire, Prime Minister H.E. Robert Beugré Mambé called for strengthened regional solidarity in the management of shared water resources, describing water governance as, above all, a political choice requiring trust, cooperation and collective responsibility among States. Côte d’Ivoire’s Minister of Water and Forests, H.E. Jacques Assahoré Konan, advocated greater mobilisation of financing for integrated water solutions, including climate finance, public-private partnerships and investment-ready projects, and emphasised the importance of ensuring the active participation of women, youth and vulnerable communities in water governance.