Sahel countries Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso have announced they are leaving the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas).
Key points
- All three countries had previously had their membership suspended after democratically elected leaders were removed in a series of coups over the past four years.
- They said the regional bloc — under the influence of foreign powers — betrayed its founding principles and failed to aid its member states in their fight against terrorism and insecurity.
- Ecowas is sub-Saharan Africa’s third-largest economic bloc. The 15-nation bloc was created in 1975 to promote economic integration among member states.
- The withdrawal of the three landlocked countries from Ecowas — which technically requires a one-year notice period — would be severely disruptive for trade between the three countries and the littoral west African states.
- Their withdrawal threatens to further weaken economic development in the three Sahel nations, who already rank as among the world’s poorest.
- In September 2023, Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso had formed the Alliance des États du Sahel, or AES.
