This follows a recommendation made by the ECOWAS Council of Ministers at the end of its 73rd Meeting in Abuja at the weekend, seeking the issuance of the biometric cards on a pilot basis in 2016.
A communiqué after a three-day 73rd Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers, which ended in Abuja at the weekend, said the document would replace the Travel Certificate currently in use.
This was disclosed by the ECOWAS Commissioner of Trade, Customs, Free Movement, Industry and Mines, Mr Ahmed Hamid, in Abuja at the opening of a two-day meeting on the review of the Protocols on Free Movement, yesterday.
In a press statement, received here Sunday by PANA, ECOWAS said the 12th ministerial meeting would be preceded by that of experts, themed “Bridging the regional ICT divide”, which will consider a series of measures , notably the proposed termination of taxes on incoming telecommunication calls to ECOWAS Member States.
Read more: ECOWAS Ministers of Telecommunication-ICT meet in Banjul
The system will drive the implementation of programmes for the sector at the regional level, the Director of the ECOWAS Community Computer Centre, Dr Monisoye Afolabi explained during a three-day meeting which ended in Ouagadougou on Friday 13th August, 2010.
Read more: Ecowas Commission Steers Towards Common E-Health Program