[1] It is named for the Mano River which begins in the Guinea highlands and forms a border between Liberia and Sierra Leone.

[2] The goal of the Union was to "accelerate the economic growth, social progress and cultural advancement of our two countries ... by active collaboration and mutual assistance in matters of common interest in economic, social, technical, scientific and administrative fields".

When Secretary-General Habib Diallo was killed in a car crash in 2011,[5] his successor was the first woman to hold that office: Dr Saran Daraba Kaba.

[6] The Mano River Union Secretariat is based in Freetown, Sierra Leone,[4] with offices in Conakry, Guinea and Monrovia, Liberia.

[7] To date this idea has been shelved as the cost and the structure of another parliamentary body whose relevance remains to be appreciated.