This conference was attended by delegations from all the countries of West Africa other than the Ivory Coast, most of them led by ministers; and the executive secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa, Mr R. K. A. Gardiner, attended in person.

The conference had a dual origin: one was a series of meetings convened by President Diori Hamani of Niger, and serviced by a group of experts led by Professor de Bernis of the University of Grenoble; the other was the work of the E.C.A., starting with its publication of Industrial Growth in Africa (New York, 1963), followed by its mission on industrial co-ordination in West Africa, and a conference on iron and steel held in Monrovia in 1963, and culminating in a series of specialised studies. The final papers for the conference were prepared in collaboration between the E.C.A. secretariat and Professor de Bernis' group.