The African Union (AU) is ramping up its diplomatic efforts toward the states of the Sahel and West Africa (SWA), in a context of regional realignment marked by tensions with ECOWAS and security challenges in the Sahel.
The African Union (AU) announced a meeting between the chairperson of its commission and the Malian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdoulaye Diop, dedicated to the political and security situation in Mali as well as regional developments in the Sahel.
According to the continental organisation’s official statement, the discussions focused on developments in Mali following the coordinated attacks of April 25, 2026, carried out jointly by JNIM and the FLA against several Malian localities.
These offensives notably resulted in the death of the Malian Minister of Defense, Sadio Camara, and
allowed rebel groups to recapture the city of Kidal, which had been lost in November 2023.
On this occasion, the chairperson of the commission reaffirmed the African Union’s “full solidarity” with Bamako. Both parties agreed to continue consultations to support the Malian authorities in their efforts toward institutional stabilisation, governance consolidation, and development
revitalisation, in line with the objectives of Agenda 2063.
On the same day, the AU Commission also announced a meeting between its chairperson and Mamadou Tangara, AU High Representative for Mali and the Sahel, dedicated to recent regional dynamics in the Sahel.
The chairperson of the commission commended the High Representative’s diplomatic initiatives and encouraged him to continue efforts to engage in dialogue and support Sahelian states in the pursuit of stability, peace, and sustainable development.
This new diplomatic phase comes as the African Union intensifies its initiatives toward the Confederation of Sahelian States (CSA), comprised Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, within the context of reshaping relations with ECOWAS.
In the second half of April, the then-current chairperson of the African Union (AU), Burundian President Évariste Ndayishimiye, advocated in Ouagadougou for building a “common future” between the continental organisation and the Sahel-Saharan Africa (SAA), following a meeting with Burkinabe President Ibrahim Traoré. He commended the Burkinabe authorities’ commitment to the fight against terrorism and emphasised the need for a lasting rapprochement between the AU and the Sahelian countries.
Meanwhile, Mr. Tangara has been holding numerous regional consultations in recent months. After a visit to the ECOWAS headquarters in Abuja, he was received in March in Freetown by Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio, the current Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State.
These steps are taking place in a context of reshaping relations between ECOWAS and the ESA countries, which left the West African organisation in January 2025 while maintaining certain technical and economic cooperation.
AC/Sf/fss/as/APA