The Commander in Chief of Sierra Leone's Armed Forces, President Koroma to open the meeting of ECOWAS Chiefs of Defence Staff

Pasco G. H. Temple Information Attaché Sierra Leone High Commission Abuja, Nigeria

A sixteen man strong delegation from the Commission of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has Sunday December 06 departed the Nigerian soil for Sierra Leone as an advance party to make way for the last quarterly meeting of ECOWAS Chiefs of Defence Staff scheduled to take place from 9th to 11th December 2009 in Freetown, Sierra Leonean capital.
The sixteen man delegation which is led by the Commissioner for Political Affairs. Peace and Security (PAPS) Colonel Mahamane Toure include Directorate of Defence and Security, General Charles Okae, some senior military personnel, translators and ECOWAS Information Officer Mr Uwem Thompson.
During their two days deliberations the West African defence Chiefs will consider issues
relating to the structure of the ECOWAS Standby Force Main Brigade (ESF MB), and adoption of the structure of the Main Brigade that will facilitate West Africa's preparation for complying with the 2010 African Union deadline for the operationalization of the standby forces arrangement for Africa's Regional Economic Communities (RECs) under the AU security architecture.

Also, the Defence Chiefs will also be briefed on the AU Rapid Deployment Capability (RDC) concept which was fine-tuned at a recent meeting of the RECs organized by the AU Commission in Abuja.

They will also consider a presentation on the outcome of workshops on the reimbursement modalities for the 6, 500-strong ECOWAS Standby Force as well as the civilian dimension in Peace Support Operations (PSOs). Moreover, they will consider issues surrounding the framework agreed by ECOWAS and Save the Children Sweden on the promotion of child protection in the region.

The Chiefs of Defence Staff are also to consider a report on the establishment of the Committee of Chiefs of Security Services (CCSS). The CCSS, which inaugural meetings were held in the first week of November 2009 in Abuja, was set up to boost on-going efforts at promoting regional stability.

Furthermore, they will be briefed by the Force Commanders of the United Nations Operations in Cote d'Ivoire (UNOCI) and the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) - the two peacekeeping missions in West Africa - on developments in their areas.

The Commander in Chief of Sierra Leone's Armed Forces, President Ernest Bai Koroma is expected to formally open the last quarterly meeting of ECOWAS Chiefs of Defence Staff
Pasco Gerald Temple