Despite their formal withdrawal from ECOWAS, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger maintain technical and security ties with the West African organization, as evidenced by their admission to GIABA as non-ECOWAS members, their continued participation in the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), and their reaffirmation of regional cooperation in addressing the challenges of illicit financing and insecurity in the Sahel.
The three member countries of the Confederation of Sahel States (AES) – Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger – were admitted as non-ECOWAS members of the Intergovernmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), the 68th Ordinary Session of the Conference of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) announced on Sunday.
This decision comes in a context where the three countries have officially left the regional organization but maintain certain technical and institutional links with ECOWAS structures.
Recently, the ESA authorities deplored the breakdown in dialogue with ECOWAS following their withdrawal from the organization.
The Conference approved this admission based on the three states’ “firm political commitment” to fully implement the obligations required of GIABA members, including addressing deficiencies in their anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing, and counter-proliferation financing (AML/CFT/CPF) systems.
The ESA countries also committed to “full cooperation” and compliance with all obligations stipulated in the statutes of GIABA, a specialized regional organization established to combat illicit financial flows in West Africa.
Furthermore, the Heads of State approved the resolution of the Board of Governors of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) concerning the continued participation of ESA countries in the regional financial institution, but now as “non-regional countries.”
This decision guarantees the continuity of banking operations and ongoing development projects in the three countries, despite their withdrawal from the main political structure of ECOWAS.
The Conference also approved the Council’s proposal to maintain the existing staffing levels of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), thus ensuring the institutional stability of the
regional bank.
Beyond financial and governance issues, ECOWAS reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining security cooperation with the three Sahelian countries.
The Conference urged member states and instructed the ECOWAS Commission to “maintain and intensify” their collaborative efforts with Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, aiming for “effective and strengthened cooperation to address the deteriorating security situation in the region.”
This pragmatic approach demonstrates the regional organization’s recognition that the fight against terrorism and insecurity in the Sahel requires cross-border coordination, regardless of political differences.
The three countries of the AES face a growing terrorist threat which also affects the current member states of ECOWAS, creating a de facto security interdependence in the Sahel-Saharan space.
AC/Sf/fss/gik/APA