The First Zonal Meeting of 2025 was held in Abuja, Federal Republic of Nigeria, from April 23 to 26, 2025, at the Wells Carlton Hotel, Aso Koro, under the theme :
“50 Years of Regional Integration : Contribution of the ECOWAS Brown Card Insurance Scheme to the Free Movement of Goods and Persons.”
As a prelude to this meeting, the Executive Committee Meeting of the ECOWAS Brown Card Insurance Scheme took place on April 23, 2025, at the same venue.
As a prelude to this meeting, the Executive Committee Meeting of the ECOWAS Brown Card Insurance Scheme took place on April 23, 2025, at the same venue.
The meeting was attended by delegates from the following National Bureaux :
• Benin
• Côte d’Ivoire
• The Gambia
• Ghana
• Republic of Guinea
• Liberia
• Nigeria
• Senegal
• Sierra Leone
• Togo
Also represented were the National Insurance Commission of :
• Liberia
• Nigeria
• Togo
SUMMARY OF PROCEEDINGS
The work of this First Zonal Meeting led to the following key points :
• Implementation of the Revised Technical Texts
This presentation highlighted the reforms made to the fundamental texts of the ECOWAS Brown Card Scheme.
Emphasis was placed on harmonizing the legal framework, improving the management of cross-border claims, and adhering to compensation deadlines.
Decisions were made regarding the application of late penalties, the creation of a unified accident report form, and the update of the composition of the Arbitration Commission.
• Creation of Technical Committees
The Permanent Secretary General presented the Terms of Reference of the new Technical Committees, adopted by decision of the Executive Committee, to strengthen monitoring and coordination of the Scheme’s strategic actions.
• Status Reports from National Bureaux
The activity reports presented by the Executive Secretaries of each National Bureau, as of December 31, 2024, based on the model provided to National Bureaux, gave participants insight into the following :
• General information for 2024 ;
• Brown Card certificates issued in 2024 ;
• Number of claims reported in 2024 ;
• Claim recoveries by number and amount in 2024 ;
• Claim payments by number and amount in 2024 ;
• Status as of 12/31/2024 of arbitration cases still unpaid ;
• 2025 outlook ;
• Challenges encountered ;
• Proposed approaches to address the challenges.
• Lagos–Abidjan Corridor Project
This presentation highlighted the transformative potential of the project for regional mobility,
the integration of smart technologies, borderless systems, and digital tools,
as well as interoperability with the ECOWAS Brown Card Information System.
