The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), have officially agreed to work together.
During an inaugural ministerial dialogue held in Dakar in Senegal, over the weekend, the two blocs entered a new phase of pragmatic coexistence, ruling out a return to a single unified membership. Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger withdrew from ECOWAS a year ago, forming the AES bloc.
Several diplomatic attempts and requests to reverse their withdrawal from ECOWAS, failed.
The Dakar meeting has now closed the chapter as the two blocs agree to rather negotiate a new framework for bilateral partnership as separate entities to manage regional trade, security, and cross border movement.
They have decided to form a joint thematic working group that would establish the working guidelines.
–ChannelAfrica–
