Nearly 21 months after Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger formally withdrew from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the two sides have opened negotiations to preserve economic and security cooperation across the region. Although the three countries have established their own Confederation of Sahel States (AES), their trade routes, border communities and security concerns remain closely tied to neighboring ECOWAS members.
On October 17, 2026, ministerial delegations from ECOWAS and the AES met in Dakar and agreed to establish joint thematic working groups to prepare a framework cooperation agreement. The proposed discussions cover trade, security and the movement of people and goods across borders. Their recommendations will be submitted to ministers before another negotiating session. No agreement has yet been concluded.
The talks address the practical consequences of the political split. Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger are landlocked and rely on transport corridors through neighboring coastal countries to reach international markets. Ports in Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, Benin and Ghana serve as important gateways for Sahelian trade. Any disruption to transit arrangements, customs procedures or cross-border transport can raise costs for importers and exporters and complicate access to essential supplies.
The issue extends beyond freight. Traders, transport operators, workers and pastoralist communities depend on established cross-border networks. When the three countries left ECOWAS, the bloc called on its remaining members to maintain key arrangements for travel, residence and trade involving their citizens while longer-term relations were being determined. These transitional measures helped prevent an immediate break in regional exchanges, but left the future legal framework unresolved.
Security presents another reason for continued engagement. Armed groups operating across the Sahel do not respect the institutional boundaries separating ECOWAS and the AES. Violence in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger also threatens neighboring countries, particularly along their northern borders. Intelligence-sharing, border management and coordination between security forces therefore remain relevant to both organizations, despite their political differences.
The negotiations do not indicate that the three Sahelian countries intend to rejoin ECOWAS. Their governments have maintained that their withdrawal is irreversible and have instead called for relations based on sovereignty and mutual respect. The Dakar meeting reflects an effort to establish practical cooperation without reversing that decision.
For ECOWAS, maintaining working relations with the AES is also important to preserving regional trade and limiting the spillover of insecurity into coastal West Africa. For the three Sahelian states, access to neighboring markets, ports and transport networks remains essential despite their institutional separation from the bloc.
The joint working groups now face the task of translating these shared interests into workable arrangements. Their discussions will determine whether political separation can coexist with reliable rules for trade, mobility and security across West Africa.
