President of the Commission, Mr Marcel de Souza, made the call when he received the German Foreign Minister, Mr Frank-Walter Steinmeier, on Monday, October 10 in Abuja.
De Souza expressed concern that the demographic growth in the sub-region was equal to its economic growth, adding that such growth was not beneficial to economic development. He also noted that migration of African youth to European countries was on the increase.
He said: “Our sub-region is under pressure, migration is increasing and the same goes for terrorism. We need to change this situation and for us to change this situation, we need to create conditions for the youths to stay home. We need to take a step and sensitise people on the need to have good control of our families. We must sensitise women in our sub-region to make sure that there is a limited number of children that can be taken care of.” he said.
He further expressed gratitude to the German government for its continued partnership with the sub-regional bloc.
In his remarks, the German foreign minister, Mr Frank-Walter Steinmeier, commended ECOWAS for enhancing peace and security in member states.
Steinmeier, however, encouraged the body to enhance efforts in the establishment of the Standby Force. He also reiterated the continued support of the German government in promoting security in the sub-region.
