ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States)

Why in News: ECOWAS was recently in news related to the coup attempt in Sierra Leone

• It is the West African nation’s regional group which was established in 1975 through the Lagos Treaty.
• Mandate: Promoting economic integration among its members.
• Aim: To have a single common currency and create a single, large trading bloc in areas of industry, transport, telecommunications, energy, financial issues, and social and cultural matters. 

• Member countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d’ Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Senegal and Togo. Around 400 million people live in this regiono
• These countries have both cultural and geopolitical ties and shared common economic interest.
• Headquarters: Abuja, Nigeria.
• Beyond the goals of economic cooperation, ECOWAS has attempted to quell military conflicts in the region. 
• ECOWAS also operated a regional peacekeeping operation known as ECOMOG, led by Nigeria in the 1990s and early 2000s.