The Director General of Immigration, Ebrima Mboob, attended and Chaired the 9th Annual Heads of Immigration (HoI) Meeting held from the 14th to 16th October 2025 in Cotonou, Republic of Benin.
The 9th edition, a forum that brings together immigration authorities across ECOWAS Member States, focused on addressing emerging issues in mobility and migration. This yearโs event was hosted under the theme: โ๐๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐๐๐ซ ๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ, ๐๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง, ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ฆ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ง๐ก๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ข๐จ๐ง.โ
The forum aimed to consider and endorse reports from thematic expert meetings on Border Management and Labour Migration, review the status of implementation of the ECOWAS National Biometric Identity Card (ENBIC), assess existing gaps, and adopt the Regional Border Management Strategy and Action Plan.
DG Mboob chaired the Forum following his leadership of last yearโs meeting in Banjul, which centered on the theme: โ๐ผ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ง๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐ค๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ก๐๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐ค๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐พ๐๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐๐ก ๐ฝ๐๐ค๐ข๐๐ฉ๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ฉ๐ฎ ๐พ๐๐ง๐ (๐๐๐ฝ๐๐พ) ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ผ๐๐ค๐ก๐๐จ๐๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐ค๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ 90-๐ฟ๐๐ฎ ๐๐ฉ๐๐ฎ ๐๐๐ข๐๐ฉ/๐๐๐จ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ข๐๐ฉ๐จ ๐๐ค๐ง ๐พ๐ค๐ข๐ข๐ช๐ฃ๐๐ฉ๐ฎ ๐พ๐๐ฉ๐๐ฏ๐๐ฃ๐จ.โ
In his address as the outgoing Chair, DG Mboob highlighted the progress and achievements recorded during his tenure, noting significant advancements registered by The Gambia.
โ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ฎ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐๐น๐ฎ๐ฟ๐น๐ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ต๐ณ๐ฑ ๐๐๐ข๐ช๐๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ผ๐น๐. ๐ช๐ฒ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐น๐ผ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ณ๐๐น๐ณ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ด๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ผ๐ฏ๐น๐ถ๐ด๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ถ๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ฐ๐๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐, ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐น, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐บ๐ผ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป,โ he stated.
While reaffirming The Gambia’s commitment to strengthening regional integration through enhanced border management and migration governance, he encouraged delegates to engage openly and collaboratively, taking advantage of the Forum to share experiences, address challenges, and develop solutions that benefit the entire region, .
