In collaboration with UNIDO and with funding from the European Union, the ECOWAS Commission has officially launched the ECOWAS Quality Conformity Mark. This took place in Bissau on July 8, 2023, on the sidelines of the next meeting of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers, which was held from July 06 to 07, 2023 in Guinea-Bissau.

The ceremony was presided over by the Vice-President of the Commission, H. E. Mrs Damtien TCHINTCH. E Madame Damtien TCHINTCHIBIDJA, was attended by several Bissau-Guinean ministers (Energy and Industry, Education, etc.), ambassadors, representatives of ECOWAS member states, the ECOWAS Commission, the European Union, UNIDO, the regional private sector (FOPAO , FEWACCI), consumer associations, women's associations, national certification bodies and companies in the process of being mandated or certified, etc.

ECOWAS Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, Mrs Massandjé Touré-Litsé, presented the Mark and its attributes. "There is no doubt that ECOQMARK will demonstrate that our products meet the highest international standards, stimulate our intra-community trade, and provide a competitive advantage for the private sector in terms of access to African markets within the framework of the FTAAfTA," said the Vice-President. Today, July 08, 2023, we make history by opening a new era for quality infrastructure in the ECOWAS region. This led the European Union, the main donor, through the voice of Pedro SARAIVA, its representative at the ceremony, to "extend (its) congratulations to (its) partner UNIDO for its technical assistance to the ECOWAS Commission during the implementation of the current and previous programs, and for its achievements".

"All the progress made under the competitiveness and quality programs is significant, and must be maintained for the benefit of the region", said the Bissau Guinean Minister of Energy and Industry, Mr. Augusto POQUENO.

During the ceremony, symbolic certificates were presented to:

• six (6) national certification bodies: CODINORM (Côte d'Ivoire), GSA Certification Department (Ghana), Agence Nigérienne de Normalisation, de Métrologie et de Certification (Niger), Standards Organization Of Nigeria (SON, Nigeria), Association Sénégalaise de Normalisation (ASN, Senegal) and Comité Togolais d'Agréments (COTAG) / Haute Autorité de la Qualité et Environnement (Togo) and to
• five (5) companies: Agropal West Africa Limited (Ghana), JOCACRISPIN Nigeria Limited, Saveurs d'Afrique (Niger), Vision Plus Afrique (Senegal).

The aim is to encourage them to finalize the process leading to their ECOQMARK certification.

It should be recalled that it was within the framework of the West Africa Competitiveness Program (WACOMP), and particularly its regional component implemented by UNIDO, called the West Africa Competitiveness and Quality Infrastructure Project (WACQIP), that the ECOWAS Council of Ministers adopted Regulation C/REG. 06/11/21 adopting the general management rules, the rules of attribution, the logotype and the graphic charter of the ECOWAS Standards Conformity Mark named "ECOQMARK". To this end, UNIDO has provided technical assistance to 15 National Certification Bodies (NCBs) and 25 companies in the region, with a view to their mandating by the ECOWAS Commission and the certification of their products, respectively.