Niger/opening of the first summit of the Alliance of West African States

The first summit of the Alliance of West African States (AES), which brings together Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, opened on Saturday at the Mahmat Ghandi International Conference Center in Niamey, capital of Niger. 

The opening ceremony of this summit was chaired by the Nigerien Head of State Abdourahamane Tiani, in the presence of his counterparts from Burkina Faso, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, from Mali, Colonel Assimi Goïta and several members of the Burkinabe governments , Malian and Nigerien. 

In his speech at the opening of the summit, President Tiani recalled the context of the creation of the Alliance of Sahel States, marked in particular by the threat of military intervention by the Economic Community of African States. West (ECOWAS) against Niger, following the taking ofpower of the military on July 26, 2023 who deposed the elected president Mohamed Bazoum. 

General Abdourahamane Tiani welcomed the decision taken by Ouagadougou and Bamako to militarily oppose any aggression against Niger. Reproaching ECOWAS for its indifference in the face of terrorism which has been raging for several years in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, the Nigerien head of state said he was convinced that ''in the current geopolitical context, the AES remains the only efficient sub-regional framework in the fight againstterrorism''. 

Believing that the people of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have "irrevocably turned their backs on ECOWAS", Abdourahamane Tiani underlined his "solemn agreement" for the creation of a federation of Sahel States which has been proposed during several meetings of Ministers of Affairsforeigners and their finance colleagues from the three countries. 

In his speech, the Burkinabè president made a violent indictment against the imperialists ''who steal and pillage our countries'', as well as their ''local lackeys'' whom they always manage to get elected at the end of the electoral processes whose rules they define. 

“They continue their polls declaring that Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger are the poorest. But why don't they want to leave our countries," said Captain Ibrahim Traoré. 

As for the Malian President, Colonel Assimi Goïta, he placed great emphasis on the need for the AES States to strengthen their solidarity in the various key areas of development, including energy. 

This is how he mentioned and welcomed Niger's decision to provide hydrocarbons to his country and Burkina Faso to help them minimize the consequences of ECOWAS sanctions. 

After the opening ceremony, the three heads of state and members of their delegations withdrew to continue discussions behind closed doors. The conclusions of their work are expected this Saturday evening. 

The three AES countries announced in January their departure from ECOWAS, an organization that they consider “instrumentalized” by France, the former colonial power with which they have increased acts of rupture. 

The AES covers the geographical area of ​​Liptako-Gourma, a historic cross-border region of West Africa and the Sahel, shared between Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.