Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has said he is “making progress” in a mediation mission with junta-led Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, after the trio announced their departure from regional bloc ECOWAS.
The three Sahel countries announced in January they were leaving the Economic Community of West African States, which they accused of being subservient to former colonial ruler France and failing to support them in their fight against jihadist violence.
Their departure becomes effective one year after the announcement, in January 2025, according to the bloc.
The trio have formed the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) after severing ties with France and pivoting towards Russia.
ECOWAS appointed Senegal’s Faye as a “facilitator” in July to try to get them to remain in the bloc.
“I am making progress with this mission,” Faye said on Sunday at the Doha Forum for political dialogue in Qatar.
“There is nothing today to prevent the Alliance of Sahel States from being maintained, since it is already there and is a response to the security situation facing these countries in particular,” he said.
“At the same time, this should not, in my view, mean the disintegration of ECOWAS”, he added.
Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger are all battling jihadist violence that erupted in northern Mali in 2012 and spread to Niger and Burkina Faso in 2015.
Faye spoke ahead of an ECOWAS summit scheduled for Sunday, according to an official from the regional bloc.
He also called for reform of the organisation.
The progress made by the bloc, such as improved movement of people and goods, “must not be masked by problems of governance which, like many multilateral institutions, require reform to adapt them to the challenges of our time”, Faye said.
The 15-member ECOWAS has been shaken by a string of coups since 2020.
Senegal’s Faye, who swept to victory in March on a platform of radical change, was in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar to shore up investment support for his plan for economic transformation.
“Senegal is nobody’s preserve but that of the Senegalese people,” he said.
“We are open to all other countries” provided that they respect Senegal’s sovereignty and its “social standards”, and that the partnerships are “mutually beneficial”, he added.