The ECOWAS Commission through the Directorate of Free Movement of Persons and Migration is holding an Experts Meeting on ECOVISA in Accra, Ghana from 22 to 23 May 2023.
The two-day technical meeting seeks to: (1) present the report and recommendations from the stakeholders’ Meeting held on 22 March 2023, for discussions and collective input; (2) present the recommendations from the previous experts meeting for discussion and finalize on the cost and procedures of the ECOVISA. The Meeting will also discuss other technical issues related to the effective implementation of ECOVISA.
Participants attending this Experts Meeting are drawn from relevant ministries in charge of visa management and representatives of Immigration Services in Member States.
Recall that the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government mandated the ECOWAS Commission to develop the modalities for the smooth implementation of the ECOVISA for Migrants of third countries. In realization of this mandate, several meetings were held with stakeholders and critical steps were taken towards this objective. Furthermore, significant progress has been recorded through concerted efforts by critical actors in Member States. Technical work sessions were also held which afforded Experts the opportunity to make key recommendations with regard to the processes and procedures, cost and design for validation.
This meeting is therefore to finalize the technical discussions and propose recommendations for validation and adoption in the upcoming Heads of Immigration and Sectoral Ministers Meeting respectively.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
