Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger are taking a crucial step in their separation from the West African regional bloc ECOWAS.
To this end the trio has been orchestrating a strategic diplomatic meeting in the Burkinabe capital Ouagadougou.
In a tense geopolitical context, senior officials of the Confederation of Sahel States are working to define a precise and consensual roadmap.
With this in mind, the Secretary General of the Burkinabe Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Cooperation and Burkinabe Abroad, Ambassador Issa Boro, opened preparatory work for a meeting of new bloc’s foreign ministers scheduled for Sunday, January 26, 2025, in Ouagadougou.
Experts from Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger will spend two days examining the items on the agenda relating to the formalities for leaving Ecowas. The main objective is to harmonise the positions of the member countries and develop a concerted strategy for future negotiations.
In his speech, according to the Burkinabe Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Boro stressed his country’s commitment to building a new space of peace, security, and socio-economic progress for the people of the CSA.
“We are going to define a common approach to negotiation to preserve and promote the interests of the Sahel countries, and constitute a multidisciplinary team responsible for deepening our strategy,” said Ambassador Boro.
The delegations from Niger and Mali, led respectively by envoys Ousmane Alhassane and Mahamane Amadou Maïga, welcomed the initiative.
The head of the Nigerien delegation described the meeting as a “decisive step towards leaving Ecowas” while his Malian counterpart insisted on the need for “serenity and appeasement” for the populations.
January 28, 2025, has been officially set for the consecration of the withdrawal of the AES countries from Ecowas.
In January 2024, the three countries announced their withdrawal from the regional groupng, which they accuse of being a stooge of international powers, notably France.
In response, Ecowas extended the withdrawal period by six months, citing the need to allow the Senegalese and Togolese presidents, mandated at the July 2024 summit, to continue talks with CSA leaders with a view to securing a possible return of the trio to Ecowas.
However, CSA leaders rejected this extension, calling it a unilateral decision aimed at hindering their efforts to regain their sovereignty.
As a sign of its determination to break with Ecowas, the CSA announced, through its current president, General Goïta, the introduction of its passport from January 29.
AC/lb/as/APA