AES: harmonisation of positions ahead of forthcoming negotiations with ECOWAS

Kinshasa, October 14^th, 2026 (CPA).- Experts from Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have met on Wednesday in Ouagadougou to harmonise the positions of the Confederation of Sahel States (AES) ahead of negotiations with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), scheduled to take place in the coming days in Dakar, in Senegal, international media have reported. ‘Our responsibility is therefore to prepare a rigorous, coherent position that is fully in line with the guidelines of our Confederation’s College of Heads of State,’ Yirigouin Hermann Toe, head of the Burkinabe delegation and General Secretary of the Ministry in charge of Foreign Affairs has declared. According to sources, the Dakar negotiations are intended to enable the two regional blocs to discuss the terms of their future relations, particularly with regard to the movement of people, trade and cooperation amongst the peoples of West Africa. Meeting as part of a confederal task force, senior officials from the AES are to identify the priorities of the three countries, particularly regarding the free movement of people and goods, trade, the integration of peoples, and diplomatic and institutional issues. The conclusions of this meeting will be submitted to the Confederation’s ministers in charge of foreign affairs, who are due to meet on Thursday in Ouagadougou to examine the experts’ recommendations ahead of discussions with ECOWAS. For his part, the Malian ambassador, Amadou Maiga, has indicated that the preparatory works should help to define the priority issues that will guide the negotiations. Meanwhile, the head of the Nigerien delegation, Ambassador Ousmane Alhassane, has welcomed the establishment of the task force, which is responsible for harmonising the roadmap for the consultations. The forthcoming discussions take place against a backdrop of regional integration being reshaped, following the withdrawal of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger from ECOWAS, which took effect on January 29^th, 2025. The three countries have established the AES, a confederation designed to strengthen their political, economic and security cooperation.