President of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS Commission, Dr Omar Touray, has said that the regional bloc requires approximately 2.61 billion dollars to operationalise its proposed 5,000-strong ECOWAS Standby Force, ESF.
Touray disclosed this during a joint meeting of ECOWAS Ministers of Finance and Defence held yesterday in Abuja.
The meeting aimed to finalise the modalities for mobilising funds to activate the regional anti-terrorism force.
The president noted that terrorism in any form remained a significant threat to regional integration, prompting ECOWAS leaders to prioritise the creation of a military response force.
He warned that such activities threatened international trade and investment, disrupted regional commerce, and restricted the free movement of people, goods, and services across West African borders.