ECOWAS Summit to Address Security and Departure of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger

West African leaders from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are convening for a summit on Sunday, with security issues and the departure of three military-led governments at the forefront of discussions.

Ahead of the summit, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger reaffirmed their decision to leave ECOWAS, calling it “irreversible.” They condemned the bloc for being subservient to France, their former colonial ruler.

The exit of these three countries could significantly impact free trade, movement, and regional security cooperation, especially as jihadist groups continue to make gains across the Sahel region.

Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, appointed by ECOWAS in July as a mediator with the breakaway states, will attend the summit in Abuja. Faye reported last week that he was “making progress” in talks with the three countries and emphasized that maintaining relations, particularly due to security concerns, should still be possible.

According to ECOWAS regulations, the departure of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger from the bloc will be finalized in January 2025, one year after the announcement.

The three nations have also formed their own confederation, the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), after severing ties with France and shifting their alliances towards Russia.

Although the three breakaway countries have not announced whether they will attend the Abuja summit, they held a separate ministerial meeting on Friday in Niamey, Niger’s capital. In a joint statement, the ministers reiterated their “irreversible” decision to withdraw from ECOWAS and expressed their commitment to reflecting on the best way to exit in the interests of their people.

All three states have experienced military coups and jihadist insurgencies in recent years. Guinea, another ECOWAS member, is also under military rule after a 2021 coup.

Tensions with ECOWAS escalated after the group threatened military intervention following the July 2023 coup in Niger, the region’s sixth in three years, and imposed heavy sanctions on the country. Togo’s President Faure Gnassingbe has also been mediating with the Sahel states.