ECOWAS COMMISSION PRESIDENT ENGAGES SWITZERLAND, ICRC AND IRAN ON STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS AND REGIONAL COOPERATION

ECOWAS COMMISSION PRESIDENT ENGAGES SWITZERLAND, ICRC AND IRAN ON STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS AND REGIONAL COOPERATION

The President of ECOWAS Commission, H.E. General Birame Diop, has held separate meetings with H.E. Patrick Egloff, Ambassador of Switzerland; H.E Doris El Doueithy, of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC); and H.E. Cholamreza Mahdavi Raja, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran, at the Commission Headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria, 23 October 2026.

The meetings focused on strengthening strategic partnerships, deepening multilateral engagement and identifying mutually beneficial areas of cooperation, guided by the principles of mutual respect, dignity and shared responsibility. Discussions also underscored the importance of prioritising practical, high-impact initiatives that directly improve the lives and livelihoods of citizens across the ECOWAS region. The Ambassadors reaffirmed their commitment to continued cooperation with ECOWAS, highlighting opportunities for collaboration in healthcare, peace and security, counter-terrorism, education, agriculture, technical expertise and personnel training.

The meetings also addressed irregular migration among young people, driven by unemployment, governance challenges, conflict and climate change, as well as humanitarian crises requiring coordinated international responses. These engagements reaffirm ECOWAS’s commitment to strengthening