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The Economic Community of West African States hopes to use this time to convince the three nations to remain in the bloc.
Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger will have a six-month grace period following their departure from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), scheduled for January 29, a year after the countries announced their intentions to leave.
The decision, reached at a summit of West Africa’s main political and economic group this weekend in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, was seen as a last-ditch effort to dissuade the three countries from abandoning it, a move the bloc has so far failed to do. has been able to stop. . Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger reaffirmed that their decision to leave is “irreversible.”
The three countries, located in the insurgency-ravaged central Sahel region, have formed their own group called the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). The new effective departure date has been extended to July 29, although January 29 will remain the official withdrawal date. The bloc hopes to use the six-month transition period to convince countries to return.
On Saturday, the three nations declared that their territories would remain visa-free for all ECOWAS citizens after departure. The move has eased concerns that his departure could threaten the free trade and movement of the 400 million people living in the region.
Among those attending the summit was Senegal’s president, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who has served as a mediator between the 15-member bloc and the three countries that are leaving the bloc.
The Senegalese president, who was appointed to lead negotiations in July, said he was “making progress” in talks with the three countries, adding there was no reason for them not to maintain relations amid continuing security concerns in the region, where al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS) have gained ground.
The withdrawal of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger from ECOWAS would mark the culmination of a tumultuous period for the Sahel, where a series of coups since 2020 have brought military authorities to power. New governments have fostered closer ties with Russia at the expense of its former colonial ruler, France, and other former allies in the region and beyond.
