The Alliance of Sahel States (AES)—Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger—opened their first formal talks with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Dakar, Senegal, on 17 October 2026, after the three Sahel states announced on 28 January 2024 that they would withdraw from ECOWAS. The two sides said they were opening discussions on arrangements for future cooperation.
The Dakar meeting was co-chaired by Burkina Faso’s foreign minister, Karamoko Jean-Marie Traoré, for the AES, and Senegal’s foreign minister, Cheikh Niang, for ECOWAS. Traoré said the talks were not about the Sahel states returning to ECOWAS but about "opening a new page" and formalizing new relations between the two groups. ECOWAS chief negotiator Lansana Kouyaté, a former Guinean prime minister, said the aim was to avoid direct confrontation and lay the groundwork for ongoing cooperation. Malian foreign minister Abdoulaye Diop said the discussions were being held in a "spirit of openness, constructiveness, and responsibility" on the part of the AES.
Participants in the meeting highlighted the historical, sociocultural, and economic ties that unite West African populations, and reaffirmed their commitment to building relations based on good neighborliness, respect for sovereignty, dignity, and the well-being of their peoples. Both blocs expressed their ambition to reach a cooperation framework that is "balanced, realistic, and preserves the interests of their peoples."
A key outcome of the Dakar session was the establishment of joint technical working groups. These groups are tasked with addressing the free movement of people and goods, trade, and counterterrorism. Their mandate is to conduct technical exchanges and draft proposals for future institutional and legal arrangements that will govern relations between the AES and ECOWAS. The results of their work will be submitted to ministers at a future session, with the date and location to be determined through diplomatic channels.
The technical discussions are expected to continue on 18 October, with further meetings planned in the months ahead. The objective is a framework agreement governing future cooperation between the AES and ECOWAS. The date and location of the next ministerial session will be determined through diplomatic consultations, according to the joint communiqué.
This process builds on earlier consultations held in May 2025 in Bamako, where both parties had already discussed areas of common interest that could structure future discussions. The Dakar meeting concluded with both AES and ECOWAS expressing gratitude to Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, the government, and the people of Senegal for their hospitality and commitment to West African integration. The joint communiqué was signed in Dakar on 17 October 2026 by the heads of both delegations.