WEST African leaders from the regional group ECOWAS met yesterday for a summit with security and the departure from the bloc of three military-led governments high on the agenda. The 66th summit of the Economic Community of West African States ECOWAS is getting underway, with Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger notably absent.
These three coup-hit nations have severed ties with the bloc, accusing it of unfair coup-related sanctions. Chairing the meeting is Nigerian President Bola Tinubu.
Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye is set to report to the bloc after he mediated with Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso at the previous summit. Among the topics on the agenda are regional security challenges and the payment of community levies by member states.
Ministers are also expected to discuss the implementation of the ECOWAS trade liberalisation scheme, which entails the free movement of people and goods. Currently headed by Nigeria, ECOWAS is more important than ever, with the region’s stability being thrown into danger by coups and security crises.
“The ministers reiterate the irreversible decision to withdraw from ECOWAS and are committed to pursuing a process of reflection on the means of exiting in the best interests of their peoples,” they said in a joint statement.
The three states have all gone through military coups and jihadist insurgencies in recent years. ECOWAS member state Guinea is also run by a military government after a 2021 coup. With around a dozen members, including Benin, Ivory Coast, Ghana and the Gambia, the bloc was founded in 1975.
