International
ECOWAS Intensifies Efforts On Regional Single Currency
The Economies of West African States (ECOWAS) has intensified efforts on practical arrangements for the launch of the single currency, ECO for the region following consensus reached in the implementation of the directives issued at its 65th Ordinary Session.
This was revealed in a communiqué issued at the end of the 66th ordinary session of the authority of the head of state and government meeting held in Abuja on Sunday.
The ECOWAS bloc of 15 countries had previously planned to launch the currency in 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic caused delays.
The new launch date is 2027.
The Authority said it adopted the criteria proposed by the High-Level Committee for the selection of candidate Member States for the launch of ECO or those which would join at a later stage.
It instructed the Commission, in collaboration with the West African Monetary Agency (WAMA), to ensure that these criteria are incorporated into the protocol establishing the ECOWAS Monetary Union Agreement.
The Authority also endorses the proposals of the High-LevelCommittee on the costs, sources and modalities for financing the implementation of the reforms and institutions needed to launch the ECO.
It urged the central banks and member states to take the necessary measures for the payment of their financial contributions for the operationalisation of these institutions as soon as the decision on the effective date for the launch of the ECOWAS single currency is taken.
The Heads of State also urged the High-Level Committee, in collaboration with the ECOWAS Commission, to intensify its efforts to ensure that the deadlines set for the establishment and operationalisation of the institutions needed to launch the ECO are met.
The body said it welcomed the results achieved in the implementation of the ECOWAS Agricultural Policy (ECOWAP) within the framework of food security and nutrition.
Considering the critical role of agriculture in the socio-economic development of ECOWAS member states, the Authority directed the commission to ensure a swift implementation of the regional strategy for the Development of Livestock Farming and the Security of Pastoral Systems; the Regional Rice Self-sufficiency Initiative and its road map 2025-2035; and domesticate the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Action Plan 2026-2035.
The Authority also welcomed the strengthening of cooperation with technical and financial partners and urged member states to work together with community institutions towards the achievement of these initiatives for food security and nutrition in the region.
The ECOWAS currency is intended to:
Improve trade
A single currency could lower trade costs and improve intraregional trade, which is currently hindered by the use of different national currencies that are not convertible within ECOWAS.
· Boost economic prosperityA single currency could boost the economic well-being and prosperity of ECOWAS countries.
Some say that the transition to a single currency will involve a short period where both the national currencies and the common currency circulate side by side.
Others suggest that the first phase of implementation should involve two distinct ECO zones, where countries peg their national currency to the ECO.
A train derailed in the southern Iranian province of Kerman on Friday, injuring more than two dozen people though no deaths were reported, according to local media.
“Thirty people were injured when a train derailed on the Kerman-Zarand railway path,” Babak Mahmoudi, head of the Red Crescent Society’s Relief and Rescue Organisation, told the Mehr news agency.
A statement from the public relations office of the national railway body carried by the Tasnim news agency reported that after “the timely arrival of railway technical personnel and rescue forces, all passengers safely exited the train”.
Train derailments are not uncommon in Iran, and while they do not generally result in deaths, there have been fatal disasters in the past.
In June 2022, 21 people were killed and dozens were injured when a train derailed near the central Iranian city of Tabas after hitting an excavator beside the track.
In 2016, two trains collided and caught fire in northern Iran, killing 44 people and injuring scores.
AFP
International
U.K.–India set to boost bilateral trade by over $34 billion a year
The FTA, which slashes duties on goods including textiles, alcohol and automobiles, was signed Thursday in the presence of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his UK counterpart, Keir Starmer.
•Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his UK counterpart, Keir Starmer.
U.K. and India’s bilateral trade is set to get a more than $34 billion annual boost over the long term following their free trade agreement, with the countries’ leaders calling it a “historic” deal.
CNBC reported that the FTA, which slashes duties on goods including textiles, alcohol and automobiles, was signed on Thursday in the presence of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his UK counterpart, Keir Starmer.
Both sides had finalized the trade pact in May after three years of intense negotiations — marked by thorny issues such as visas, tariff reduction and tax breaks.
Talks gained momentum and both governments accelerated to seal the deal as U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats sent the world in disarray.
The agreement between the world’s fifth and sixth largest economies is expected to boost their bilateral trade by 25.5 billion pounds per year by 2040.
Trade in goods and services stood at over 40 billion pounds in 2024.
The deal offers “huge benefits to both of our countries,” boosting wages, raising living standards and bringing down prices for consumers, Starmer said.
India’s Modi lauded the agreement as “a blueprint for our shared prosperity,” highlighting how Indian goods including textiles, jewelry, agricultural products and engineering items would benefit from a better access to the U.K. market.
International
Russian missing plane found in Forest – No Survivors
Amur’s regional governor Vasily Orlov said five children were among those on board and declared three days of mourning.
Russian officials say 48 people were killed when an Angara Airlines plane went down in a dense forest in the far-eastern Amur region.
The Antonov An-24 plane, carrying 42 passengers and six crew, had left Blagoveshchensk close to the Chinese border and vanished from radar screens as it approached Tynda airport, officials said.
A Russian civil aviation helicopter then spotted burning fuselage from the plane on a remote hillside about 16km (10 miles) from Tynda.
Amur’s regional governor Vasily Orlov said five children were among those on board and declared three days of mourning.
Orlov said that according to preliminary data, there were 43 passengers, including five children, and six crew members on board the plane operated by a Siberian airline.
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