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By Sebastian Syme, ACCRA
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EVEN West African leaders have arrived in Accra to attend the 45th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government summit which opens today.The Vice-President,Mr Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur, led a government delegation to receive them at the Jubilee Lounge of the Kotoka International Airport.
MOTE' are expected to arrive this morning for the two-day conference.
Already in the country are the President of Niger, Mr Mabamadou Issoufou; the Malian President, Mr Ibrahim Boubacar Keiti!; the Nigerian
President,Mr Goodluck Jonathan, and the Ivorian President,Mr Alassane Ouattara.
The rest are the President of senegal,Mr Maciw Sall; the President of Burkina I:aso, Mr Blaise Compaore, and the Liberian President, Mrs Ellen I Johnson-sirleaf.
Report
The mid-year summit of ECOWAS is expected to consider a report on the community's main activities and projects oveT the first halfof this year, to be presented by the ECOWAS Commission President, Mr Kadre Desire ouedraogo.
Also to be discussed is a .
recommendation for the introduction of biometric ID cards for all ECOWAS
citizens and the abolition of resident permit requirements for all citizens within member states.
The current Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea will also engage the attention of the leaders.
An update on the situation in Guinea-Bissau where a new President was sworn in last month following successful parliamentary and presidential elections, held with the
I support of ECOWAS, will also be on the agenda.
Other invitees
In addition to the leaders of the 15 member states, the Presidents of three nations bordering the ECOWAS sub
region - Mauritania, Cameroun and
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Sbdes (ECOWAS) ls Chad - have also been
invited.
The President of the African Union
Commission and the secretary-General of the United Nations are also among the invitees.
The summit was preceded last Thursday by a Mediation and security Meeting of ECOWAS. involving the Foreign and Defence ministers of all the
member states to discuss a report on the Meeting of security and Intelligence chiefs.
Theywill also examine updates on the security situation in parts of
