Sahel states restart dialogue with ECOWAS

At their first official ministerial meeting, ECOWAS and the Alliance of Sahel States agreed to create joint thematic working groups. These groups will work toward a formal cooperation framework, despite the three Sahel countries leaving ECOWAS.

The meeting brought together representatives from Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso, which formed the AES after leaving ECOWAS in January 2025. Burkina Faso’s foreign minister Karamoko Jean-Marie Traore led the AES delegation, while Senegal’s foreign minister Cheikh Niang led ECOWAS. Their stated approach emphasized fraternity, mutual respect, openness, good neighbourliness, and respect for sovereignty.

This agreement creates a channel for practical cooperation, but it does not mean the three countries have rejoined ECOWAS. Talks had continued since January 2025, yet Saturday’s gathering was the first official ministerial meeting. The working groups are therefore the next step: they must turn shared commitments into a cooperation agreement while managing political tensions and differing relationships with France.

ECOWAS, the Economic Community of West African States, is a regional organization that brings West African countries together. It promotes economic integration, trade, cooperation, and regional stability. It gives neighboring governments a shared forum for solving disputes and coordinating action.

A major recent example is its strained relationship with Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso. These junta-led countries left ECOWAS in January 2025, after forming the Alliance of Sahel States. On Saturday, they held their first official ministerial meeting since the split. They agreed to create joint working groups for cooperation.

This shows ECOWAS still matters, even after losing three members. It is trying to preserve practical ties through dialogue while respecting sovereignty and good-neighbor relations. The outcome could shape cross-border cooperation between Sahel juntas and coastal states, including Benin and Côte d’Ivoire.

The Alliance of Sahel States is a three-country partnership formed by junta-led Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. It matters because these governments created an alternative regional grouping after breaking with ECOWAS and France.

The three countries left ECOWAS in January 2025, after working together through the AES. In the article’s example, AES and ECOWAS officials resumed formal dialogue and agreed to create joint working groups for a cooperation agreement.

The practical picture is therefore a smaller AES beside a 12-member ECOWAS. The 12-member figure reflects current membership after Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger’s withdrawal. Their talks show that separation has not ended cross-border cooperation, especially on good-neighbour relations and respect for sovereignty.

Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso left ECOWAS in January 2025 after military juntas took power. They wanted a regional partnership emphasizing sovereignty and less dependence on France.

The juntas formed the Alliance of Sahel States, or AES, as their alternative platform. They turned away from France, moved closer politically to Moscow, and criticized coastal countries remaining close to Paris.

This created a major split within West Africa, but it has not ended regional contact. ECOWAS and the AES began talks in January 2025, holding their first official ministerial meeting on Saturday. They agreed to create working groups for a cooperation agreement. The arrangement may preserve practical relations while the three states keep their independent, pro-sovereignty position.

Renewed cooperation could make cross-border trade and travel more predictable, while improving coordination against insecurity. Continued separation could preserve political distance but create extra obstacles for traders, travelers, and security agencies.

A concrete example is the January 2025 withdrawal of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso from ECOWAS. Their new grouping may produce different travel, customs, and security procedures from ECOWAS members. That makes journeys and goods crossings harder to coordinate, while potentially weakening shared security channels.

Saturday’s meeting was the first official ministerial meeting between ECOWAS and the AES. Both sides agreed to establish joint working groups aimed at a cooperation framework. The practical outcome will depend on whether those groups produce common rules for borders, commerce, travel, and security.

Relations with France and Russia have become a major political dividing line in the Sahel. Military governments in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso rejected France’s influence, presenting closer ties with Moscow as anti-imperialist and protective of national sovereignty. Coastal neighbours such as Côte d’Ivoire and Benin remained closer to Paris, deepening regional mistrust.

After juntas took power between 2020 and 2023, the three Sahel states turned their backs on France and moved politically toward Russia. They formed the Alliance of Sahel States, then left ECOWAS in January 2025. This choice helped them coordinate around sovereignty and resist coastal governments they viewed as too close to France.

That split still shapes regional diplomacy, but it has not ended the need for cooperation. In Saturday’s first official ministerial meeting, ECOWAS and the AES agreed to create joint working groups for a cooperation framework. The talks suggest pragmatic engagement may coexist with competing foreign alignments.