AES and ECOWAS relaunch dialogue in Senegal

The Alliance of Sahel States (AES) and ECOWAS officially resumed dialogue at a ministerial meeting in Dakar on October 17, 18 months after Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger left the regional organization. The delegations welcomed the discussions’ spirit of fraternity and mutual respect and stressed the need for relations based on good neighbourliness and respect for sovereignty. They agreed to establish joint working groups to develop a framework cooperation agreement. Burkina Faso’s foreign minister, Karamoko Jean-Marie Traoré, led the AES delegation, while Senegal’s Cheikh Niang led the ECOWAS delegation.