The Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has assumed the new Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) at the conclusion of the bloc’s 69th Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government held in Lungi, Sierra Leone on Sunday.
Faye assumes the leadership of the regional organisation at a time of significant security, institutional and economic challenges.
According to the statement from the Senegalese Presidency, Senegal is assuming the position, following the rotation of the chairmanship of the organisation to President Bassirou Diomaye Faye as Sierra Leonean President, Julius Maada Bio, whose term as Chair of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government came to an end and he formally handed over the leadership to his Senegalese counterpart.
“Having completed my mandatory one-year tenure as Chair of the ECOWAS Authority, I am pleased to pass the baton to my younger brother, His Excellency Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye, President of the Republic of Senegal,” Julius Maada Bio said.
The leadership transition comes as ECOWAS seeks to redefine its priorities amid the political and security shifts reshaping West Africa.
Speaking earlier at the opening the summit, the ECOWAS Commission President, Dr. Omar Alieu Touray, said that the organisation had reached “an important turning point” in its history, more than five decades after its establishment.
He noted that the public expectations regarding peace, security, prosperity and opportunities had “never been higher,” while the region’s challenges were becoming “increasingly complex and interconnected.”
The outgoing Commission’s President urged regional leaders to renew their commitment to solidarity, cooperation and regional integration.
To address these challenges, Touray advocated the adoption of a “Pact for the Future,” outlining a series of ambitious objectives, including raising intra-regional trade to 40 per cent by 2035, creating a single digital market by 2030, integrating the regional energy market by 2035, restoring constitutional order across member states and strengthening ECOWAS’ financial autonomy.
“The success of ECOWAS is inseparable from the success of Africa,” he said, arguing that a stronger regional organisation would contribute to achieving the African Union’s Agenda 2063 development blueprint.
Meanwhile, the Senegalese Presidency, in the statement, described Faye’s appointment as a recognition of “a respected voice” and “a vision pursued with consistency.”
As the incoming ECOWAS Chair, Faye highlighted the need to operationalise the regional counterterrorism force, strengthen resource-sharing mechanisms, improve the organisation’s financial self-reliance and enhance protection for the populations affected by crises.
It added that his assumption of office also comes amid broader renewal of ECOWAS leadership structures. Last December, member states agreed to award Senegal the Presidency of the ECOWAS Commission for the 2026–2030 term. General Birame Diop, nominated by Dakar, is expected to succeed Omar Alieu Touray as head of the Commission’s executive arm.
It noted that the new leadership configuration places Senegal at the centre of ECOWAS’ future direction as the bloc seeks to tackle persistent security threats, deepen economic integration and redefine its relationship with the Confederation of Sahel States (AES).
AC/Sf/lb/gik/APA