ECOWAS-EU Energy Partnership Forum 2026

ECOWAS-EU Energy Partnership Forum 2026

ECOWAS Commission through the Directorate of Energy and Mines and the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE), in cooperation with the Ministry of Energy, Water and Mines of Benin and the Delegation of the European Union to Benin and the Delegation of the European Union to the Federal Republic of Nigeria and ECOWAS, intends to organise a joint forum to support the governance of the energy sector in the West African region and celebrate the ECOWAS-EU partnership. The forum will build on the joint ongoing ECOWAS-EU Energy Governance cooperation and will take place in Cotonou from 11 to 13 November 2026.  The regional gathering aims to officially present two energy sector programmes, both operating under the Africa-EU Green Energy Initiative (AEGEI) and agreed between the European Union and the ECOWAS Commission.

The Objectives of the forum include:

• — Celebration of the ECOWAS-EU cooperation by launching the ECOWAS Energy Support Programme and ReCCAWA programmes;
• —  Technical and governance working sessions for both programmes:
  •     ECOWAS Energy Support Programme: Refining & Shaping the Governance Structure of the Technical Committee and the Steering Committee for the four components of the programme;
  •     ReCCAWA Clean Cooking White Paper consultation and validation;
  •     ReCCAWA Foundational session of the Clean Cooking Community of Practice;
  •     ReCCAWA: Consultative Group meeting
• — Special panel session on energy and food sovereignty;
• — ECOWAS-Donors Consultation Committee (EDCC) meeting for ECREEE;

The event aims to bring together over 60 participants from the ECOWAS Commission, EU, ECREEE, AECID, RVO, WAPP, ERERA, GIZ, Expertise France, ECREEE clean cooking focal points, development partners, NGOs, the private sector and diplomatic missions.