The official celebration ceremony took place on 10 January in the capital city of Burkina Faso at the International Conference Centre of Ouaga 2000. The group welcomed the presence of President Alassane Dramane Ouattara of Côte d’Ivoire, the current chair of the UEMOA’s Heads of State and Governments Conference. In terms of challenges, he highlighted the low rate of intra-community trade; the large number of border controls, delays and illegal imposed levies; the distortion of competition; and difficulties of some companies in gaining access to markets within the union. At the end of the ceremony, the two presidents inaugurated the new UEMOA administrative complex, located in Ouaga 2000. Read on

Luxembourg is one of the most generous providers of aid. It spends about 1% of its gross national income on official development assistance (ODA), far above the UN target of 0.7%. Capitalising on its achievements and its work with fragile states, it has approved a new general development co-operation strategy entitled, “The road to 2030.” Read on

China announced USD 60 billion in additional financing to support Africa’s development at the 3rd Forum for Africa-China Co-operation (FOCAC) Summit, which was held in Beijing on 3-4 September. The biggest Africa event in China brought together leaders from nearly all African countries (except Swaziland), Chinese officials and representatives from the African Union Commission. The Beijing Declaration outlined a new commitment called, “Toward an even stronger China-Africa community with a shared future.” The declaration is supported by a 2019-21 action plan. Burkina Faso and Gambia joined the forum as new members. Read on

In his most recent article published on the Ideas4Development blog, Laurent Bossard, director of the Sahel and West Africa Club Secretariat, takes a look at the paradox of Sahelian women. Despite the key socio-economic role they play in Sahelian communities, they remain marginalised and are sometimes deprived of their fundamental rights. Read on