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Mali to take over next year’s presidency of the Tripartite Alliance
The military rulers of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger signed a treaty on Saturday at their first summit in Niger’s capital, Niamey, creating a federal union following their recent decision to sever ties with the existing Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The summit was intended to further consolidate the Alliance des Etats du Sahel, which was announced last September when Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger signed a charter agreeing to help each other in the event of external aggression or internal threats to their sovereignty.
Mali will chair the alliance for a one-year term. Burkina Faso will host the first extraordinary ministerial meeting of the alliance of three African countries, according to a statement issued after the three-nation summit in Niger.
“On this historic day for our two peoples, I am pleased to sign the operational and founding documents of the AES Union together with my brothers from Burkina Faso and Niger. I am honored that Mali has been chosen as the Chair.” Mali’s transitional president Assimi Goita posts on X (formerly Twitter).
After the summit, the three countries issued a joint communiqué saying they agreed to coordinate diplomatic efforts, set up the AES investment bank, and pool resources to develop projects in strategic areas such as mining, energy and agriculture. The three countries decided in March to establish a joint force to deal with security threats within their territories.
The charter was signed by three transitional heads of state: Mali’s President Assimi Goita, Niger’s leader Abdoulaye Kiyani and Burkina Faso’s President Ibrahim Traoré.
The signing ceremony took place a day before an ECOWAS summit, which is expected to reverse the decision of the three countries to withdraw from the group. However, the Sahel countries have ruled out the possibility of returning to the West African economic bloc. Tchiani described the AES summit as “This is the culmination of our resolute collective will to take back our national sovereignty.” “Our people have irreversibly turned their backs on ECOWAS,” said the Nigerien leader.
read more: Niger invites rival bloc to join Sahel alliance
Ouagadougou, Bamako and Niamey have accused the West African political and economic bloc of acting as a tool of foreign powers, particularly France, and posing a threat to their sovereignty. The three countries have severed military ties with France.
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