On Thursday, ministers of defense and foreign affairs from Mali and Niger traveled to the capital of Burkina Faso for a trilateral meeting involving the three nations. This gathering follows their recent departure from the ECOWAS regional bloc, and now, as members of the Alliance of Sahel States, they are taking steps towards establishing a tri-state confederation.
Abdoulaye Maïga, the spokesperson for the Alliance, confirmed that the three nations have jointly affirmed their commitment to promptly withdraw from ECOWAS and continue their collaboration within the Alliance, which was established in September of the previous year.
Additionally, Maïga stated that the purpose of the ministers’ meeting is to prepare for the establishment of the proposed confederation.
“As you know, we are here in Ouagadougou as part of the preparations for the summit of Heads of State of the Sahel Alliance, which is due to take place soon,” said Maïga. “Before our meeting, our experts from the three countries had time to exchange views on a number of documents, so it was only natural to come and report to his Excellency Captain Traoré, and then to benefit from his wise advice and recommendations to help realize the common vision of the three Heads of State, that is, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger”.
The ministers further reiterated their collective dedication to promptly withdraw from ECOWAS and maintain collaboration within the Alliance, established in September last year.
The January decision to depart from the organization dealt a significant blow to the Western African bloc. The three states declared their immediate exit, citing “illegitimate, inhumane, and irresponsible” sanctions imposed by ECOWAS.
These sanctions were implemented in response to coups in the Sahelian countries.
