Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission and World Bank Convene 18th West Africa Unique Identification for Regional Integration and Inclusion (WURI) Coordination Committee Meeting to Advance Regional Identity Integration

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission and the World Bank as co-secretariat, convened the 18th meeting of the Coordination Committee of the West Africa Unique Identification for Regional Integration and Inclusion (WURI) Programme. The virtual meeting, held on the 11th March, 2026 gathered Project Coordinators from five participating countries; Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Niger, and Togo, alongside representatives from the ECOWAS Commission and the World Bank to review progress in the implementation of the project since the last Coordination Committee meeting, along with plans and priorities for the second and third quarters of 2026.

The WURI Programme, funded by the World Bank, aims to increase the number of persons in participating countries who have government-recognized proof of identity, facilitating their access to services both within and across national borders. The programme focuses on three key areas: strengthening the legal and institutional frameworks for foundational identification (fID) systems; establishing robust and reliable fID infrastructure; and enabling access to services through fID-issued identity credentials.

On behalf of the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Alieu Touray, the meeting was opened with welcome remarks by the Director of Free Movement of Persons and Migration and the Project Coordinator of the WURI Project, Mr Albert  Siaw-Boateng, followed by remarks from the representative of the World Bank and a representative of the Chair of the Coordination Committee, Mr. Moniyiel Kantchoa.

During the meeting, chaired by Mr. Moniyiel Kantchoa, project coordinators from each participating country presented key achievements recorded, updates, plans and priorities for the second and third quarters of 2026. The World Bank also provided an update on programme-level developments.

Another key agenda item was the review and endorsement of the agenda for the upcoming Supervisory Committee meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, March 25, 2026 at 10:00 WAT. The Supervisory Committee serves as the highest governance body of the WURI Programme and is responsible for validating decisions and recommendations submitted by the Coordination Committee.

The Coordination Committee serves as a key Governance structure of the WURI Programme, responsible for the facilitating opertaional sterring of its common objectives, mobilizing technical expertise through the Technical Committee, and promoting the sharing of experiences and harmonization of tools among participating countries. Its decisions and recommendations are subsequently submitted to the Supervisory Committee for validation.

The meeting reaffirmed the commitment of ECOWAS, participating countries and development partners to advancing inclusive and interoperable identification systems that support regional integration, improve service delivery and enhance the implementation of the ECOWAS Free Movement framework.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).