As part of the preparations for the launch of the ECOQMARK mark, ECOWAS brought together some thirty participants in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, from May 19 to 20, 2023, including representatives of the ECOWAS and UEMOA Commissions, the European Union and UNIDO in Côte d'Ivoire;  ECOCONF members representing ECOWAS member states, representatives of private sector organizations (FEWACCI and FOPAO), consumer rights protection associations and the WACQIP regional technical coordination unit.  
To support the process, regional certification programs have been developed for priority regional products, including mango juice, dried mango and starch.
The meeting made it possible to :
- validate the Regional Certification Programs for three priority products, including mango juice, dried mango and cassava starch;
- validate the list of selected analytical methods to be used by laboratories for the ECOQMARK mark.

Tra Bi Emmanuel, Côte d'Ivoire's Director General of Industry, who opened the meeting on behalf of his Minister, noted that product markings are of vital importance, as they materialize manufacturers' commitment to ensuring that products comply with the requirements laid down by national or Community regulations.
He praised the progress made by the ECOWAS Commission in the region, pointing out that in many member states, standardization, metrology, accreditation and conformity assessment activities are still in their infancy, hence the need for in-depth reflection to find appropriate solutions together.
"These objectives can only be achieved through the development of conformity marks, whose role is to attest that a product meets specific requirements, notably in terms of safety, quality, performance, reliability and environmental impact", he argued.
Lassané Kaboré, Director of Industry for ECOWAS, confirmed this, stating that "this meeting has enabled us to take a further step towards the operationalization of the ECOWAS mark of conformity". A result that satisfies UNIDO. Indeed, according to Mr. Tidiane Boye, UNIDO Resident Representative in Côte d'Ivoire, "UNIDO is proud to have had the opportunity to contribute to ECOWAS' efforts in these various fields over the last few years, and even decades".

It should be remembered that it was following the ECOWAS Quality Policy adopted in February 2013 by Additional Act A/SA.A/02/13, that Community Regulation N°C/REG.19/12/13 established the ECOWAS Regional Quality Infrastructure Scheme. Article 7 of this Regulation creates the Community Quality Council (CCQ), the Community Metrology Committee (ECOMET), the Community Conformity Assessment Committee (ECOCONF), the Community Technical Regulation Committee (ECOREG) and the Regional Accreditation System (ECORAS).