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the countries of the sub-region are in the Sahel Zone and are threatenedby desertification, which continues to gain ground and is pushingits way southward. It is therefore important for ECOWAS to comeup with a comprehensive Action Plan on how to mitigate and adaptto climate change.Let me now make a few remarks on why there is the need for harmonisationand coordination of policies of regional integration blocs inthe sub-region. The assessment of ECA is that the current system ofintegration in Africa is too complex. Almost all of our countries belongto more than one of these RECs. The existence of these RECs and thefailure to harmonise their initiatives has resulted in unnecessary duplicationof effort. There is therefore an urgent need to align these RECsto ensure coherence.In West Africa, there is the presence of ECOWAS and l’Union économiqueet monétaire ouest africaine (UEMOA). Both institutions recognisethat each has to compliment the efforts of the other and are engaged inremoving duplications and overlap of programmes and activities. Thatis why a framework of consultations between the two integration bodieshas been created as a means to strengthen their relationship.Despite this commendable framework of cooperation, ECOWAS andUEMOA need to do more. The bodies should harmonise their protocolsand align their institutional settings so as to ensure efficiency and theeffective use of resources.Before I conclude let me briefly touch on what we are doing at ECA tostrengthen our collaboration with ECOWAS.At the margins of the Shanghai meeting of the African DevelopmentBank, I held bilateral discussions with the President of the ECOWASCommission, Dr. Ibn Chambas, on how to strengthen collaboration betweenECA and the ECOWAS Commission. I informed him that our subregionaloffice in Niamey has been strengthened and would very soonhave a multi-year agreement with the Commission. The Agreement willspecify areas for cooperation, incorporating regional integration, trade,infrastructure, capacity building and human resources development, aswell as resource mobilisation for regional multi-sectoral projects andprogrammes.Integrating Africa91