Alex Soros eyes partnership with Mahama to support ECOWAS integration

President John Dramani Mahama began his engagements on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly with a meeting with Alex Soros, Chairman and Founder of the Open Society Foundation (OSF), in New York on Sunday.

The meeting focused on opportunities for collaboration and support for regional integration efforts through the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Soros, an investor and philanthropist who has previously engaged with President Mahama, expressed interest, through his organisation, in exploring partnerships that could support ECOWAS’ integration agenda.

The meeting also served as a precursor to a planned presidential roundtable being coordinated by the Open Society Foundation. The roundtable is expected to bring together a select group of presidents and chief executive officers of major global foundations and organisations.

Among those expected to participate are representatives of the Gates Foundation, Ford Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Hewlett Packard, Hilton, Rockefeller Foundation, Humanity United, Anglo American, Chandler and UBS Optimus, among others.

The engagements form part of President Mahama’s wider diplomatic activities around the UN General Assembly, with a focus on strengthening international partnerships and mobilising support for regional development and integration initiatives.