ECOWAS,lead,CORRECTION
   West African mini-summit on free trade zone opens
   by Ola Awoniyi
   ATTENTION - CORRECTION: corrects word in fourth bullet point to xxx
infrastructure xxx (sted implementation) ///

   ABUJA, March 27 (AFP) - Leaders and representatives of seven
neighbouring
west African countries met here Monday to discuss setting up a free trade
zone
and establishing a new common currency.
   The meeting was called by President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and
brought together the presidents of Togo, Mali and Niger and representatives
of
Ghana, Benin and Burkina Faso.
   Obasanjo told the opening session the aim was to follow up the decision
reached by the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
in
Lome, Togo, in December to allow a two-speed process of implementation of
agreed policies.
   Nigeria, the main regional political and economic power, was determined
to
find ways of "accelerating ... the process of regional economic integration
as
a means of moving the sub-region forward," he said.
   Obasanjo said that Nigeria and Ghana, frustrated by years of "slow"
progress, had committed themselves to speeding up implementation of a
number
of ECOWAS programmes including:
   -- establishing a second ECOWAS monetary zone separate from the CFA
franc
zone
   -- implementing the ECOWAS trade liberalisation scheme
   -- establishing an ECOWAS free trade area
   -- implementing physical infrastructure programmes
   -- private sector collaboration.
   "I am delightedto report that the non-CFA zone countries have joined
Ghana
and Nigeria in forging ahead to create the second ECOWAS monetary zone by
the
year 2003," Obasanjo said.
   "A programme of action designed to achieve this objective has been
prepared
and a mini-summit of heads of state of the affected countries will soon be
held."
   ECOWAS was set up by Nigeria in 1975 to move the west African region to
closer economic integration but progress has been slow with little action
in
the past to back up intiatives.
   The process has also been dogged by differences between the
English-speaking and French-speaking countries in the bloc.
   ECOWAS earlier announced that Nigeria and Ghana had agreed to ease
border
formalities between their two countries and recommended the easing of
travel
formalities within the region.
   Obasanjo said the process of economic integration was vital for
development.
   "We in this part of Africa can only survive if we work towards attaining
our common goal of socio-economic integration as part of measures for
making
our economies competitive," he said.
   "I have no doubt in my mind that we shall all work towards attaining our
ultimate goal of full integration," he added.
   ECOWAS Executive Secretary Lansana Kouyate thanked the countries for
attending the mini-summit.
   "This special summit session itself is a manifestation of the new spirit
of
regional solidarity and high political commitment to the ECOWAS regional
integration process," he said.
   The meeting's opening was considerably delayed to allow Obasanjo time to
return to Nigeria from attending Burundian peace talks in Arusha, Tanzania,
earlier in the day.
   The meeting was expected to end late on Monday.
   ola-pcj/

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