Cooperation between the three states of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger seems to be stronger than ever.
Eight months into its creation, the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), made up of the trio, convened a foreign members’ confab for a what is intended as a landmark meeting in Niamey, capital of Niger on the future of the organisation.
Preceded by the meeting of senior officials on 16 May, this ministerial preparatory meeting for the summit of AES heads of state will examine and validate the texts to be submitted for adoption by the leaders with a view to institutionalising and making operational the Alliance of Sahel States.
This was according to the Malian foreign affairs ministry, headed by Abdoulaye Diop, who will
participate in the meeting.
Founded last September, the AES is a joint initiative of Mali’s Assimi Goita, Niger’s Abdourahamane Tiani and Burkina Faso’s Ibrahim Traore, three military leaders who have united their countries’ forces on the security, political and economic fronts.
This follows their acrimonious withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which has always opposed the re-emergence of military coups and consequent junta rule in the region in recent years.
For a while, the regional grouping had contemplated military intervention to reinstate Niger’s Mohamed Bazoum, who was overthrown in July 2023 by General Tiani’s National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland.
However, this idea seems to have been abandoned in favour of a negotiated solution.
Bamako stresses that the “reinforced integration” of the ESA countries stems from a vision shared by the three military leaders of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. The Liptako-Gourma Charter, which established the ESA, enabled a collective defence and mutual assistance architecture to be put in place on 16 September 2023.
The meeting of EAS foreign affairs ministers will represent an important step in the process of political and
socio-economic integration of the three countries.
Ths would be part of strengthening their strategic leverage, according to Mali’s foreign ministry.
ODL/ac/fss/as/APA