ECOWAS
/ (ɛˈkəʊəs) /
n acronym for
Economic Community of West African States; an economic association established in 1975 whose members are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo. Mauritania joined but withdrew in 2002