WEST AFRICAN ECONOMIC AND MONETARY UNION (WAEMU)

AT A GLANCE
President: M. Soumaïla Cisse
Created: 1994
Secretariat: Burkina Faso
Member Countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo
Objectives: WAEMU promotes economic integration among countries that share the CFA franc as a common currency.

Supporting economic growth and regional integration in West Africa

Status: Operational
Local Organization: West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU)
Canadian Experts: Aurèle Thériault, André Cliche and Pierre Marcel Desjardins

The West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) is an institution working toward the regional economic integration of eight West African countries – Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo – those combined populations total nearly 100 million inhabitants. As a regional economic community, the WAEMU plays a key role in regional governance. In general, this group defines the processes through which the member countries harmonize their policies, develop a common market and make collective decisions.

In the past five years, the WAEMU Commission has effectively implemented the 2006-2010 Regional Economic Plan (REP), which aimed to accelerate regional growth and spread the positive impact of economic integration efforts among the populations. With the initial plan nearing its end, the Commission aims to renew this program and proceed with the development of the 2011-2015 REP. In the coming months, Canadian experts will assist the Commission with this task by supporting the development of a results-based program that uses a participatory approach in order to ensure sustainable economic growth to benefit enterprises and communities in the WAEMU region.