Champion WAES 2025, Tuggar tells West African Ambassadors

June 2, 2025 naijalife

Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, has called on West African ambassadors to actively engage in the upcoming West Africa Economic Summit (WAES) 2025, scheduled to take place in Abuja.

The summit aims to promote economic integration, unlock trade opportunities, and boost investment across the region.

At a high-level stakeholder meeting with West African envoys in Abuja, Ambassador Tuggar described the summit as a crucial moment to redefine the region’s economic direction and reassert West Africa’s role in global trade.

“This time, West Africa will rise not as a resource base for others, but as a fully engaged and empowered actor in global trade and transformation,” Tuggar declared.

He urged ambassadors to encourage full participation from their countries, including Heads of State, ministers, business leaders, and youth innovators, emphasising that the summit’s strength lies in the unity and collective voice of the subregion.

Tuggar called on ambassadors to serve as WAES champions, mobilising participation from their diplomatic, business, and youth communities.

Ambassador Tuggar explained that WAES seeks to promote regional economic ownership through collaboration beyond ECOWAS structures, amplify youth innovation and entrepreneurship via a dedicated Innovation and Enterprise Expo, and foster private sector-led development through engagement with chambers of commerce and business networks.

Tuggar highlighted President Tinubu’s commitment to regional integration, as ECOWAS Chair to pursue “an inclusive economic integration of West Africa.” He also revealed that President Tinubu had personally invited fellow West African leaders and appointed Special Envoys to deliver the invitations.

On the historical significance of the West African coast, Tuggar said the summit represents a bold effort to shift the narrative from exploitation to shared prosperity.

“We are no longer spectators. We now stand at the threshold of a new Atlantic era of prosperity. This time, we will shape its terms,” he affirmed.

The Minister called for collaborative action amidst rising global protectionism, stating that WAES offers West Africa an opportunity to stand united, competitive, and relevant on the world stage.

Editing by Muzha Kucha and Adeniyi Bakare