(Ecofin Agency) - ECOWAS countries had delayed the launch of their single currency to 2027, but with Nigeria, the region's biggest economy, starting to overcome its challenges, it is more important than ever for member states to come together and build stronger unity.

Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara called on ECOWAS member countries to step up their efforts toward the introduction of the ECO, the region’s long-awaited single currency. He made the remarks on October 11 during the first strategic partnership meeting between Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana.

“Our two countries must work together, along with other nations in the region, to speed up reforms and implement convergence policies. This will strengthen our monetary and financial cooperation and bring about the ECO, the single currency that the people of West Africa have been waiting for,” Ouattara said.

According to local media, the Ivorian president expressed his hope that the single currency project would be realized "by 2026 at the latest," and Côte d'Ivoire is ready to meet the convergence criteria by 2025. His comments come as institutional steps continue toward the 2027 target for the official adoption of the ECO across the region.

A key meeting on the matter took place on September 20, 2024, in Conakry, Guinea, with finance ministers and central bank officials from the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ). The final communiqué from the meeting revealed that more work is needed to align the views of the various parties involved.

The ECO project involves countries with different economic strengths, with Nigeria taking the lead, followed by Ghana and WAEMU, which operates as a single monetary zone. Other nations, such as The Gambia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea, still face challenges in meeting the convergence criteria.

The situation has become more complicated recently with Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, all members of WAEMU, moving to exit ECOWAS and forming the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).