Commonwealth Relations Office and Commonwealth Office: West Africa Economic Department...

This series contains records of the various departments of the Commonwealth Relations Office and the Commonwealth Office dealing with economic and financial affairs in Commonwealth West Africa.

By former file reference

For records of successor, the West African Department, see FCO 65

• Commonwealth Office, West and General Africa Department, 1966-1968
• Commonwealth Relations Office, Development Policy and West Africa Economic Department, 1964-1964
• Commonwealth Relations Office, Development Policy and West and East Africa Economic Department, 1965-1966
• Commonwealth Relations Office, West Africa Economic Department, 1964-1964

from 1999 Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Topics

International

Africa

The West Africa Economic Department was established in 1964 to deal with general economic, development, financial, export credit and technical co-operation matters for Ghana, Nigeria and Sierra Leone (and, when it achieved independence in February 1965, the Gambia) when the work of the earlier Africa Economic Department was split, (other functions passing to an East Africa Economic Department).

The department had particular responsibility for policy on gold, cocoa and oil-seeds. Towards the end of 1964 these functions passed to a Development Policy and West Africa Economic Department, which in 1965 absorbed the East Africa Economic Department to become the Development Policy and West and East Africa Department. On the formation of the Commonwealth Office in August 1966 economic affairs in Africa became the responsibility of the West and General Africa Department.