A citizen of Côte d’Ivoire and holder of a PhD in Economics from Félix Houphouët-Boigny University in Abidjan, where he has been teaching since 1997, Dr Kalilou SYLLA took up his post on the 1st of October 2025 as Head of the ECOWAS Department of Economic Affairs and Agriculture in Abuja, Federal Republic of Nigeria, replacing Ms Massandjé TOURE-LITSE, who has been called to other high responsibilities by her country.
Prior to his appointment, Dr Kalilou SYLLA, who has 27 years of professional experience, served as Director General of Foreign Trade at the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Côte d’Ivoire, where he coordinated foreign trade policy and served as chief negotiator for trade agreements and at the WTO. He has also worked to mobilise and support private sector actors on issues related to foreign trade, as well as the modernisation and digitalisation of the foreign trade sector.
Former Chief of Staff at the Ministry for African Integration, he coordinated negotiations for Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) and relations with regional organisations such as ECOWAS, UEMOA, CILSS and the African Union.
His time at the ECOWAS Commission between 2007 and 2012, as Head of the Office of the Commissioner for Macroeconomic Policies, enabled him to acquire in-depth knowledge of the institutional functioning of the organisation.
He has also headed pan-African structures such as the Network of West African Farmers’ Organisations and Agricultural Producers (ROPPA) and the Pan-African Farmers Organisation (PAFO), where he has helped to strengthen the capacities of agricultural actors and mobilise innovative financing for the sector.
A specialist in macroeconomic, trade and agricultural policies, Dr Kalilou SYLLA has worked on the formulation and implementation of regional integration programmes, strategic planning, the free movement of goods and people, and the competitiveness of agricultural sectors. He also has expertise in managing projects funded by partners such as IFAD, the European Union, the World Bank and UNDP, demonstrating recognised expertise in resource mobilisation and international cooperation.
At the head of the Department of Economic Affairs and Agriculture, the new Commissioner’s main mission will be to strengthen the economic and food resilience of the West African region.
His priorities will be to accelerate agricultural transformation, promote food security, stimulate regional trade and strengthen the competitiveness of ECOWAS economies in a global context marked by crises and geopolitical changes.
The new Commissioner has several publications to his credit. These include “Corruption on the roads in Africa in a context of conflict. Experience of Côte d’Ivoire. Multidisciplinary Journal of Economics and Social Affairs”, published in 2018, as well as “Socio-economic impact of the 2002 political-military conflict in Côte d’Ivoire”. In 2015, he published “Youth in West Africa, a potential for building”; and in 2012, a book entitled “Emerging from underdevelopment: what new paths for West Africa? (Volume 1) Historical aspects, institutions and integration.
He has also received several distinctions, including that of Officer of the Ivorian Order of Merit in 2019, winner of the CODESRIA Prize for Research on Civil Society and AIDS in 2003, the Prize for Excellence in Economics from the University of Abidjan in 2000 and the Prize for Excellence for the best doctoral thesis in economics from the University of Abidjan in 2018. Dr Kalilou SYLLA is fluent in French and English. He has a basic knowledge of Portuguese and Spanish.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
