Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger to Get Six-Month Reprieve from ECOWAS Withdrawal
Leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have agreed to give Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger a six-month grace period, starting from their scheduled exit on January 29, to try to persuade them to reconsider their decision to withdraw from the bloc.
The announcement came at the recent ECOWAS summit, which was seen as an opportunity to address the impending withdrawal of the three countries, a year after they announced their decision to leave. The countries in the insurgency-torn central Sahel region have set up their own alliance and have been seeking closer alignment in defense and other areas.
Despite the official withdrawal date of January 29, the effective date has been extended to July 29, during which ECOWAS mediators will seek to “bring the three member countries back to ECOWAS without prejudice.” ECOWAS Commission President Oumar Touray made the announcement at the end of the summit.
The three countries have reaffirmed their decision to leave ECOWAS as irreversible and have declared that their territories will remain visa-free for all ECOWAS citizens after their exit. This could be an effort to address warnings that their departure would threaten the bloc’s freedom of movement and its common market of 400 million people.
The move could also help to address a tumultuous period in the Sahel region, where a string of coups since 2020 has swept military authorities to power who have fostered closer ties with Russia at the expense of former colonial ruler France and other one-time allies from the region and elsewhere.
