(French: “Entente Council”), French West African organization founded in 1959 and designed to promote the economic development of the region by raising funds, guaranteeing loans, and encouraging trade and investment. It operates through the Mutual Aid and Loan Guarantee Fund headquartered in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast). The original member-states were Dahomey (now Benin), Côte d'Ivoire, Niger, and Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso); Togo joined in 1966.