| |
An association of most but not all of the states of West Africa. It has sixteen members: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d\'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo. It was founded in 1975, chiefly to promote economic cooperation and development, and holds yearly summit meetings which rotate between the capitals of its members. Its secretariat (headed by an executive secretary) is in Nigeria. In 1993 the founding treaty was revised to allow ECOWAS to engage in efforts to prevent and control regional conflict (in which, so far, it has not been very successful). Other far-reaching activity has also been provided for, but has not yet materialized. |
|
