The Mano River Union (MRU) is an international association established in 1973 between Liberia and Sierra Leone, with the objective of sub-regional economic integration. In 1980, Guinea joined the union. It is named from the Mano River which begins in the Guinea highlands and forms a border between Liberia and Sierra Leone. The goal of the Union was to foster economic cooperation among the member states. Targets achieved thus far have been the introduction of a common external tariff; the intra-union trade level, and the liberalization in goods of local origin. These measures were introduced in 1977 and in 1981.

A one-day summit of Heads of State of the Mano River Union was held on Thursday 20th May 2004 in the Guinean Capital, Conakry with the three leaders of the Mano River Union States, Presidents Lansana Conte of Guinea, Ahmad Tejan Kabbah and Chairman Gyude Bryant of Liberia expressing their commitment to support all initiatives aimed at the promotion of confidence-building measures and security in the sub-region in order to strengthen cooperation amongst member countries and speed up their integration and sustainable development.

Guinean President and host Lansana Conteh, President Tejan Kabbah, and Gyude Bryant, chairman of the National Transitional Government of Liberia, were joined by President Laurent Gbagbo of La Cote D'Ivoire and President Amadu Toumani Toure of Mali as observers at the summit held within the framework of reactivating the MRU in light of the new peaceful atmosphere prevailing in the sub-region.

The President, Alhaji Dr. Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, described the summit as very important for the three countries and added that the Mano River Union was established initially to build institutions for the development of trade and other activities among the member-states. Unfortunately, he said that due to the conflicts that crept into the member countries those objectives were not achieved and stressed that the summit's main objective was to reactivate the MRU.

Chairman of the MRU and host, President Lansana Conte, said the summit symbolized the revival of peace in the sub-region whose people have suffered from over a decade of instability. The meeting, he said, provided the opportunity to build the future of the sub-region's children by learning from past mistakes and finding ways of preventing their recurrence.

He commended his brother heads of state from Sierra Leone and Liberia for their commitment and the presidents of Mali and Cote D'Ivoire for accepting to attend the meeting, saying their presence was very important as their two countries were not spared from the effect of the instability in the MRU basin.

The Chairman of the Transitional Government of Liberia, Gyude Bryant said Liberia has always been accused of being the trouble maker, but said he was pleased that a new phase had started in the sub-region with the holding of the summit and apologized for any interruption Liberia may have caused to the functioning of the union.

The Special Representative of the UN Secretary General in Sierra Leone, Ambassador Daudi Mwakawago, read a statement from the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan which said that the Mano River Union featured greatly in the activities of the UN over the past few years. He noted that the region had suffered greatly from war and deprivation saying now was the time for the MRU leaders to exhibit political will to consolidate the peace and address the question of impunity and to work to promote trans-border cooperation and controls.
He said the region has a lot of resources and if properly managed it could serve as the engine of growth for the ECOWAS sub-region. He commended the Mano River Union Women's Peace Network for their leading role in the promotion of peace among member countries.

In a communiqué issued at the end of the summit, heads of state noted with satisfaction the progress made within the framework of the peace-building process and the restoration of state authority all over Sierra Leone. The Heads of State approved recommendations contained in the report of the joint security committee and decided to take all necessary actions within the framework of the re-establishment of confidence-building measures and security.

The summit reiterated its appeal to the International Community for additional support in order to reactivate the MRU institutions and allow for the implementation of the existing protocols particularly those relating to security, defence and confidence building initiatives.

The Heads of State also reiterated their determination to further strengthen their brotherly and friendly relationships within the framework of permanent reinforcement of the historical relations which unite their countries and expressed their commitment to settle any differences through peaceful means.