Leaders of West African countries have agreed to reopen all land borders in the region by January 1, 2022.
This was part of the resolutions reached at the 60th Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS, held in Abuja.
A communique issued after the session said “The Heads of states and government welcomed the reopening of land borders in ECOWAS for the free movement of persons.”
At a virtual meeting of sectoral ministers, the reopening of the borders was recommended based on the economic effect the closure has had on the economy of the region.
The Leaders noted at the meeting that in addition to the closure of borders on account of the COVID-19 pandemic, the member states facing security crisis had also tightened security checkpoints within and at the borders of their respective countries.
This resulted in a loss of 6.7 per cent of the GDP of ECOWAS States between 2020 and 2021, the officials estimated. This corresponds to about $50 billion.
They called on member states to “Adopt mutual recognition of PCR test at borders; harmonize the validity period of test results in member states and provide equipment and facilities at all points of entry.”
