Leaders of West African countries and their Chinese counterparts are meeting in the Ghanaian capital, Accra to discuss economic strategies.

The forum, which is the second of its kind, is focused on maximizing Foreign Direct Investment from China into ECOWAS member states and attracting long-term concessionary funds for development of public infrastructure.

The forum also aims to promote ECOWAS-China trade and extension, intra-ECOWAS trade and extend the global reach of financial institutions in West Africa.

With the theme: “Institutionalizing Strategic Economic Partnership between ECOWAS and the People’s Republic of China”,  the two day forum also aims to promote ECOWAS-China trade, intra-ECOWAS trade, extension of the global reach of West Africa’s major financial institutions, amongst others.

The forum also provides a platform for deepening and strengthening collaboration between the private sector operators within the ECOWAS region and their Chinese counterparts and an opportunity to discuss and lay out a roadmap for mutual co-operation and development under some key sectors of the ECOWAS regional economy.

Chinese investment in Africa has seen a significant increase in recent times as foreign powers struggle to retool their relationships with Africa; no country has done so much as the Chinese.