The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Sub-Regional Office for West Africa (SRO-WA) and the Government of The Gambia are organizing the 24th session of the Intergovernmental Committee of Senior Officials and Experts (ICE) for West Africa from November 9 to 11.

This 24th session will be held in a context where the socio-economic space in Africa has been affected by the emergence and spread of the Covid-19 pandemic with the start of trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in January 2021.

The objective of the meeting is to discuss how recent changes have affected the economic and social development of West African countries. In particular, the meeting will seek to identify the inherent strengths and resilience of the West African economies to bounce back from the Covid-19 pandemic, the challenges, opportunities as well as the strategic pathways towards building a more resilient and sustainable development, by exploiting the many opportunities of the AfCFTA

With the theme "Leveraging the Implementation of the AfCFTA to Build Resilient and Sustainable Economies in West Africa in the Covid-19 Era ", the 24th ICE for West Africa will be held in Banjul in a hybrid format (face-to-face and online).

As in previous sessions, this year's ICE 24 will be preceded by a policy dialogue on 9 November 2021, to discuss (1) the outcomes of the West African Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs) forum and the private sector platform held in May 2021, (2) the major milestones of the Regional Business Forum - "Empowering Youth and Women to Drive Africa's Transformation Agenda" held in September 2021 and the outcomes of the International Conference on the National Transfer Account held in October 2021. This session will be an opportunity to launch the "Made in West Africa" initiative, a key recommendation of the Regional IGO and Private Sector Forum.