Liberia will host four mid-year statutory meetings of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) beginningThursday, May 25th which will be climaxed by the 51st Ordinary Summit of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government on Sunday, June 4^th, 2017.

According to a Foreign Ministry release, the first in the series of statutory meetings, the 21st Meeting of the ECOWAS Administration and Finance Committee (AFC) takes place at the Monrovia City Hall in Monrovia from Thursday, May 25th–Sunday, May 28^th, 2017.

This Statutory Committee reviews all the administrative activities, work programs and the budget of the ECOWAS Commission and its Specialized Institutions and make recommendations to the Council of Ministers. Approximately 200 participants are expected to attend the four-day meeting.

The second statutory meeting, the Ministerial Ad-Hoc Committee on Institutional Reform takes place at the Farmington Hotel in Robertsfield fromMonday, May 29^th – Tuesday, May 30^th 2017.

This Committee, created nearly two years ago, looks at issues arising out of the institutional reforms of ECOWAS, specifically statutory reallocation or institutional reform of the Commission. The Committee will discuss the report of consultant, Maxwell Stamp, aimed at completing the Commission’s institutional reforms. Already, phases 1 - 3 of the report are ready and will be discussed by this Committee. Findings are expected to be presented to the Council of Ministers and their approval.

The third statutory meeting, the Mediation and Security Council Committee takes place at the Farmington Hotel on Wednesday, May 31^st, 2017.

This Committee, which includes the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense, looks at all the security issues, peacekeeping and diplomacy, in the ECOWAS sub-region; specifically, what can be done to keep the sub-region safe.

The 78^th Meeting of the Council of Ministers, the meeting that precedes the 51^st Ordinary Summit of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, takes place at the Farmington Hotel from Thursday, June 1^st – Friday, June 2^nd,2017.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Madam Marjon Kamara will chair the Meeting of the Council of Ministers. It includes Foreign and Finance Ministers of Member States. This meeting will consider all the decisions taken by the technical and ad hoc committees, commissions, and specialized institutions. This Committee will make recommendations to the 51st Ordinary Summit of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government.

Meanwhile, the 51st Ordinary Summit of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government takes place at the Farmington Hotel in Robertsfield, lower Margibi County on Sunday, June 4^th, 2017. All sub-regional Heads of State and Government are expected to be in attendance.

Other important dignitaries expected to attend the 51st Ordinary Summit of the ECOWAS Authority include the Israeli prime minister, His Excellency Mr. Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu; a high-level delegation from the Moroccan Government, a high-level delegation from the European Union; the United Nations Secretary General, António Guterres; and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, H.E. Mr. Moussa Faki, among others.

On the margins of the 51st Ordinary Summit of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, Mano River Union States (Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire) will launch the West Africa Power Pool Project which will provide electricity to the countries within the MRU basin.

There will also be several bilateral meetings on the margins of the Summit.