President Bassirou Diomaye Faye of Senegal says he is adopting dialogue in his task to persuade Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger to abandon their decision to leave the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
President Faye was appointed as mediator by the Chairman of the ECOWAS of Heads of State and Government in the ongoing efforts dissuade the three countries, which announced their withdrawal from the regional body.
Faye told Al Jazeera in an interview that he would promote dialogue “in order to find solution that is as non-confrontational as possible”.
While recognizing the sovereignty of the countries concerned, he said that their reintegration was crucial for the stability of the region.
However, the Senegalese leader has continued to work on this task despite the fact that the three countries still stand by their decision to secede.
The three countries had announced their intention to leave the organization in January 2024, accusing it of being used by foreign powers.
Asked about the consequences of this decision on the stability of the Sahel, Faye stressed that their departure was not yet final, as the notice period would end in January 2025.
President Faye made it clear that his goal was to prevent their final departure, stating: “We are asking them to stay, not to come back”, stressing that he would respect their decision, whatever it may be.
“Senegal respects this sovereignty and respects the choice of each country as to the partners with which it wishes to deal with, whatever the area of cooperation it has freely chosen. Because Senegal also chooses the countries with which it will cooperate, and no one will impose on it the countries with which it will cooperate,” he said.
It will be recalled that President Faye, who was appointed mediator at the 65th Ordinary Summit of the AU in Abuja together with Faure Gnassingbé, had already taken diplomatic steps by visiting Mali and Burkina Faso. The day before, these two countries, along with Niger, had approved the treaty establishing the Sahel Economic Community (AES), thus distancing themselves from ECOWAS.
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