The third ECOCONF meeting was held, from 18 to 21 June 2019, at Sandralia Hotel in Abuja, Nigeria, as part of the implementation of the West Africa Quality System Programme (WAQSP). It registered the representatives of the following countries and institutions: the representative of the ECOWAS Commission; ECOCONF members representing ECOWAS Member States and private sector organizations; the two international experts (product certification and IT and Information System) mobilized by the WAQSP and representatives of the WAQSP regional technical coordination cell.

The work covered a number of issues, including the status of implementation of the action plan since the last meeting, the adoption of the draft documents related to the setting up of the regional ECOWAS certification system and the platform project, the validation of mandating agreement models and the validation of evaluator management rules projects for the mandate of the certification bodies.

The representative of the UNIDO Regional Director, Mr. Osuji Otu, highlighted the conditions for the success of a Mark: the existence of expertise in the fields of calibration, standardization, technical regulation, and test laboratories, etc. He also recalled that this ECOQMARK implementation project is in line with UNIDO's new vision for inclusive and sustainable industrial development. Before concluding his speech, he highlighted significant progress in the field of quality in West Africa. He reiterated his thanks to the European Union for renewing its confidence in UNIDO to implement the quality component of the programme to support the setting up of regional value chains for the period 2018 to 2021. Mr. Yaya Niafo, representing the ECOWAS Commissioner in charge of Industry and Private Sector Promotion, recalled that "ECOWAS has set up the regional standards compliance system that is characterized by the ECOQMARK Mark. The implementation of this system is ensured through the ECOWAS Quality Agency (ECOWAQ), the Community Committee for Conformity Assessment (ECOCONF) and the Regional Accreditation System (ECORAS) that creation, missions and the mode of organization and functioning were defined by the Council of Ministers' regulations adopted in June 2017 in Monrovia. In accordance with those regulations, ECOCONF is responsible for adopting the rules for the management of this Regional Conformity Mark, ECORAS for defining the evaluation rules and for assessing the certification bodies-product to be mandated, while the ECOWAQ manages the entire Community Product Certification System. He informed at the opening of the meeting that the ECOWAS Commission expects from ECOCONF the enrichment and adoption of the documents under consideration with a view to operationalizing the regional certification system. A recommendation satisfied by the experts who adopted the draft documents relating to the setting up of the ECOWAS regional certification system and platform project, after they examined and enriched seven (07) key documents which draft special certification rules for the five (05) priority products proposed by the ECOWAS Member States, the draft rules for the mandate of the Product Certification Bodies, the draft of the Standards Compliance Mark logo chart of ECOWAS.

The draft ECOWAQNET system certification body membership rules were presented. Its adoption has been postponed pending the establishment of the network.

The ECOLAB Maintenance project, a platform for exchanges between laboratories in the region and repair and maintenance structures for laboratory equipment, was presented to the participants who adopted it.