Sahel states restart dialogue with ECOWAS

Three junta-ruled Sahel states on Saturday resumed dialogue with the ECOWAS regional bloc which they quit over 18 months ago, agreeing to work together towards a cooperation “framework agreement”.

Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, led by juntas that came to power between 2020 and 2023, left the Economic Community of West African States in January 2025, after teaming up to create their own group, the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).

Talks between ECOWAS and the AES had been under way since January 2025 but Saturday was their first official ministerial meeting.

In a joint statement issued Saturday evening, the two sides “welcomed the spirit of fraternity, mutual respect and openness” of the talks, and stressed the importance of maintaining relations of “good neighbourliness” particularly with “respect for sovereignty”.

They agreed to “set up joint thematic working groups (…) to reach a framework cooperation agreement”.

The AES delegation was led by Karamoko Jean-Marie Traore, Burkina Faso’s foreign minister, and the Ecowas delegation by Cheikh Niang, his Senegalese counterpart.

The AES juntas have all turned their backs on France, the former colonial power, and by extension on several countries in the region such as Cete d’Ivoire and Benin, which they consider too close to Paris.

The trio have moved closer politically to Moscow, claiming an anti-imperialist and pro-sovereignty vision, and they have bitterly criticised west African coastal countries which have remained close to France.

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