The West African regional parliament is asking for a delay in the withdrawal from the bloc of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, scheduled for January 2025.
This request will be discussed at the Conference of Heads of State in Abuja on Sunday 15 December.
MPs of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) parliament have approved the adoption of the consolidated budget of the bloc for 2025, while requesting an extension of the deadline for the withdrawal of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, initially set for 29 January 2025.
The parliament has urged regional leaders to adopt an “extraordinary measure” to postpone the deadline to allow for further reflection and negotiations to preserve the integrity of the regional grouping.
Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who has been mandated by ECOWAS to lead talks with the three dithering countries, recently told the Doha Forum that negotiations were progressing well.
The extension of the deadline is therefore part of an effort to consolidate this progress. This issue, which will dominate the debates in Abuja, comes on top of the adoption of the budgets of the various regional institutions, including the parliament.
In January, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger announced their “immediate” withdrawal from ECOWAS, accusing the regional institution of being manipulated by France.
Signatories to the charter for the creation of Liptako-Gourma, which gave birth to the Alliance of Sahel States in September 2023, the three countries switched to the status of a confederation in July 2024.
AC/lb/as/APA