Former President Goodluck Jonathan has made history by becoming the first sub-Saharan African leader to be appointed to the International Advisory Board of the European Corporate Council on Africa and the Middle East, also known as the ECAM Council.
The ECAM Council is a non-profit organisation established with the purpose of promoting and developing relations between the countries of Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the North Africa region.
News of the appointment was announced in a statement on Wednesday by the special adviser to the former president, Ikechukwu Eze.
Also appointed to the advisory board were the former Prime Minister of Britain, Tony Blair, and former European Commission President, José Barroso, among others.
Read the full statement by Eze below:
Former President Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has been appointed to the international advisory board of the European Corporate Council on Africa and the Middle East (ECAM Council).
By this appointment, Dr. Jonathan becomes the first sub-Saharan African leader to serve on the board of the ECAM Council, a non-profit organisation established with the purpose of promoting and developing relations between the countries of Europe, Africa, and the MENA (the Middle East and North Africa) region, with Italy playing a leading role.
Other members of the Advisory board are Tony Blair, former British Prime Minister, José Manuel Barroso, former President of the European Commission, Nayef Falah Al-Hajraf, Secretary-General GCC Gulf Cooperation Council, and Amani Abou-Zeid, Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy at the African Union Commission (AUC).
A letter from ECAM Council to the Office of Dr. Jonathan informing him of the appointment stated: “For your information, the Chairman of ECAM Council Dr. Kamel Ghribi is well acquainted with Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. We are setting up an international advisory board of ECAM Council and Dr. Ghribi would be delighted to welcome him on board.”
It noted that the Council was “founded with the purpose of developing realistic, effective and long-lasting solutions for more sustainable healthcare systems, with a special focus on the common issues affecting the Southern hemisphere of the globe.”
Dr. Jonathan will be attending this year’s ECAM Council’s high-level advisory board meeting holding in Italy on 30th May.
Every year in Italy, ECAM Council hosts a summit, in cooperation with The European House – Ambrosetti. It brings together a selected group of heads of state, government ministers and heads of multi-lateral agencies and focuses on long-term investment and international partnerships in healthcare and infrastructure, as well as the contribution of the private sector in creating strategic hubs in the African continent.
Ikechukwu Eze
Special Adviser to H.E. Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan