ECOWAS Common Investment Code and Policy
Common Investment Code
The ECOWAS Common Investments Code mark the fulfilment of the Common market of investment within West Africa. It is designed to operationalize the ECOWAS Supplementary Act adopting Community Rules on Investments and Modalities for their Implementation (adopted in 2008), ahead to the harmonization of national investment policies and regimes for greater investment climate in the region.
The Common Investment Code is made of rules and principles that govern the admission of investments within the community and provides guidelines for their exploitation.
The ECOWAS Investment Code provides the legal framework for treatment and operation of investment in the ECOWAS Common Investment Market (ECIM) and for implementation of the policy. In particular, the code aligns the Member States into a single economic space and provides:
- a clear definition of investment and investors that qualify for benefits under the code.
- a full-fledged set of provisions aimed at providing policy space for Member States in the operation of investment in their countries and within the region.
- a wide set of sectoral policy tools for economic and social development, poverty reduction, and for the advancement of the ECOWAS integration agenda.
- an innovative dispute settlement arrangement, aligned with the current development on investment governance policy discussions and reform process.
- a mechanism for implementation of the code by Member States in line with their respective national interests.
- full coherence with the continental framework on investment as envisaged in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Common Investment Policy
The ECOWAS Investment Policy contextualizes the ECOWAS investment climate realities in global best practice viewpoints and provides a guide for reform actions to improve the regional investment climate and its competitiveness. It identifies fourteen policy dimensions (comprising legal and regulatory issues, investment promotion and facilitation, investment entry, investment related trade policy, competition policy, physical infrastructure development, investment dispute resolution, human capital development, financial infrastructure development, public governance, investment related tax policy, spatial area investment policy, responsible business conduct and protection of the environment) on which Member States shall focus reform actions and make collaborative commitments to implement strategies in order to improve the investment climate and make the region more attractive to investment.