Captain Ibrahim Traoré of Burkina Faso is the new chair of the Alliance of Sahelian States (AES) after suceeding Mali’s General Assimi Goita, at the conclusion of the 2nd Ordinary Session of the College of Heads of State held in Bamako on Tuesday.
The meeting brought together the three AES leaders: General Assimi Goita (Mali), Captain Ibrahim Traoré (Burkina Faso), and General Abdourahamane Tiani (Niger).
Institutional Strengthening and Security
During the session, the AES leaders adopted four additional protocols to the founding treaty of the confederation, covering defense and security, diplomatic coordination, coordination of development actions, and confederal parliamentary sessions.
These instruments aim to establish “a solid and effective institutional architecture.”
The college also “strongly condemned what it called the despicable and futile attempts to destabilise the confederation’s member states by terrorists, backed by foreign state sponsors.”
The leaders commended the coordination between the defense and security forces, emphasising that joint operations have “drastically reduced the terrorists’ capacity to cause harm.”
The presentation of the flag to the United AES Force marked the entry into operation of this joint
military force.
Confederal Identity and Economic Development
The three leaders welcomed the actions taken to strengthen the confederal identity, including a logo, a flag, an official anthem, a motto, and identity and travel documents.
An AES Television station, an AES Radio station, and a Confederal Bank for Investment and
Development (BCID-AES) will soon be operational.
On the economic front, the college welcomed the operationalisation of the Confederal Levy (PC-AES) and the creation of the BCID-AES, “with a view to endogenous, sustainable, and predictable financing of confederal projects and programs,” while encouraging the convergence of economic policies and the free movement of people and goods.
Negotiations with Ecowas
Regarding Ecowas, Traore, Goita and Tiani approved the conclusions of the consultations of May 22, 2025, and reiterated their commitment to conducting negotiations “in good faith and in a constructive spirit” with the regional grouping Ecowas.
The confederation “is part of a visionary approach, leading to the creation of a federation of the three states.”
In his acceptance speech, President Ibrahim Traoré praised General Assimi Goita’s leadership and placed his mission “under the banner of continuity with actions already undertaken,” while outlining the priority areas of the so-called Year Two Roadmap.
The session concluded with satisfaction regarding the implementation of the decisions made at the first session held on July 6, 2024, in Niamey.
MD/ac/Sf/fss/as/APA