ECOWAS and Sahel alliance hold first ministerial talks in Dakar

The Dakar session on 17 October was the first ministerial meeting of the ECOWAS-AES Dialogue on Cooperation, according to a BBC Pidgin report. The three Sahel states formally left the West African bloc in January 2025 after forming the Alliance of Sahel States.

Working groups and a framework

Both sides agreed to set up joint working groups for different areas they identified, the report said. The groups will hold technical discussions and share ideas to create a complete cooperation agreement to guide future relations. A joint statement issued late on Saturday said the talks took place in a spirit of fraternity, mutual respect and openness. It stressed the importance of preserving good neighbourly relations while respecting each country's sovereignty.

Foreign ministers from the three AES countries attended. The ECOWAS Chair of the Council of Ministers, Cheikh Niang, and the coordinator of the AES Council of Ministers, Karamoko Jean-Marie Traore, were also there.

Nigeria's minister of state for foreign affairs, Sola Enikanolaiye, said the region needed to build on ties of geography, history, culture and social relations. In a statement from the foreign ministry, he listed common challenges including free movement of people, goods and services, peace and security, terrorism, poor infrastructure, poverty and food insecurity. He also said Nigeria was taking steps to revive Joint Commissions with Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso.

Why the exit matters

When the three countries withdrew, ECOWAS members raised concerns about trade routes, the movement of people and goods, and cooperation against insecurity across West Africa, according to the BBC Pidgin report. The AES was formed in 2024 as a confederation for mutual defence and economic integration after coups in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. The three juntas have also announced a joint security force to fight extremist violence in the Sahel. Niger's top military chief, Brigadier General Moussa Salaou Barmou, gave no operational details. Analysts quoted by the Irish News said the force's effectiveness would depend on resources and external support, and that each regime's foundation was shaky.

Relations between ECOWAS and the three Sahel countries have been tense since military takeovers in Niger in 2023, Burkina Faso in 2022 and Mali in 2020. After the Niger coup, ECOWAS imposed border closures, a no-fly zone for commercial flights and a freeze on central bank assets, and threatened to send forces to restore democratic rule.

What happens next

The working groups are to submit their findings to ministers before the next session, the BBC Pidgin report said. Neither side has announced a date or venue for that meeting or for follow-up technical talks. The joint statement said both sides aim to establish a "balanced and realistic framework" that safeguards the interests of their populations.