Nigeria is set to host the first-ever West Africa Economic Summit, scheduled to take place from June 20 to 21, 2025, at the Abuja International Conference Centre.
The event is being organized by the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with the Presidency, under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Speaking at a press conference, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, confirmed the details of the event and described the summit as a strategic platform for shaping the region’s economic future.
With the theme “Unlocking Trade and Investment Opportunities in the Region,” the summit aims to foster dialogue, collaboration, and concrete actions that will drive sustainable development across West Africa.
According to Ambassador Tuggar, “The West Africa Economic Summit 2025 will convene heads of state, ministers, private sector leaders, development partners, and youth innovators from across West Africa and beyond. As a government, we recognise that sustainable development, peace and prosperity in West Africa are best achieved through enhanced regional cooperation and economic integration.”
He stressed that meaningful integration in the region cannot rely on governments alone. “Economic integration requires the active partnership of the private sector and cannot be exclusively state-centric, hence the focus of the West African Economic Summit 2025,” he said.
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Ambassador Tuggar outlined the summit’s key strategic objectives, which include efforts to establish a harmonised trade policy framework that will remove barriers to intra-African commerce and investment.
He said the summit will also aim to mobilise resources for critical infrastructure, energy, and logistics projects to improve the free movement of goods and people across the region.
Other priorities include promoting inclusive economic growth, with specific focus on empowering women, youth, and small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as strengthening the region’s economic resilience through innovation, institutional reforms, and strategic global partnerships.
To wrap up the two-day event, a high-level dialogue between heads of state and business leaders will be held, culminating in a joint communique that will outline shared regional priorities and a concrete plan of action.
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