Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger set to permanently exit ECOWAS in 2025
Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger are set to permanently withdraw from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in 2025.
Alieu Touray, the President of the ECOWAS Commission, made this announcement on Sunday during the 66th ordinary session of heads of state and governments held in Abuja.
Earlier this year, in January, the military regimes in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger had announced their immediate withdrawal from ECOWAS. Before this announcement, the three countries were suspended from the organization, and Niger and Mali faced significant sanctions.
Touray specified that the exit date for these countries would be between January 29, 2025, and July 29, 2025. This timeframe has been established to facilitate final mediations and any potential diplomatic interventions.
The development follows a joint statement from the military-led governments of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso, in which they declared their decision to withdraw from ECOWAS as “irreversible.” They accused the organization of serving the interests of France, their former colonial power, and expressed their intention to pursue an independent path for their citizens.
This announcement comes ahead of a key ECOWAS summit scheduled for Sunday, where regional leaders had hoped to negotiate a resolution that would allow the three nations to remain in the bloc. Read More
