OUAGADOUGOU — Burkina Faso’s Minister of Economy, Aboubakar Nacanabo, stated on Sunday that the formal departure of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was a mere formalization of an existing reality.

According to Burkina Information Agency, Nacanabo articulated that following political changes within these nations, they were already being sidelined from key decision-making platforms within the organization.

Nacanabo highlighted that these countries had not been included in significant ECOWAS events, such as the conference of heads of state, council of ministers meetings, and even certain technical meetings since the shifts in governance. “Since the changes that took place in Burkina, Mali, and Niger, we were already excluded from ECOWAS. We were no longer invited to major ECOWAS activities,” he said. The minister expressed regret over this exclusion, noting that the decision on January 28, 2024, to officially withdraw was a move to concretely affirm their departure from the regional bloc.

This declaration came in the wake of the creation of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) on September 16, 2023, by Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, aiming to foster mutual defense and promote development amidst criticisms of ECOWAS’s allegiance to external interests, imposition of unfair sanctions, and deviation from its foundational principles. The collective withdrawal of these countries on January 28, 2024, was a protest against what they perceived as the organization’s subservience to foreign powers and its betrayal of its original ideals.

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso – The Alliance of Sahel States (AES) harbors the majority of the Economic Community of West African States’ (ECOWAS) natural resources, declared Aboubakar Nacanabo, Burkina Faso’s Minister of Economy and Finance, in a recent interview.

According to Burkina Information Agency, the significance of the AES countries in terms of natural wealth within the ECOWAS region cannot be underestimated.

Nacanabo criticized analyses that portray the AES, a region with a population of 70 million, as fragile or lacking in potential. He countered these perspectives by highlighting the abundance of natural resources within the AES member countries. “The resources are there. It is enough that we can have the necessary intelligence to be able to exploit them wisely to make this space a viable and above all prosperous space,” Nacanabo argued, emphasizing the potential for economic prosperity through strategic resource management.

The formation of the AES by Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger on September 16, 2023, was motivated by a desire to bolster mutual defense and development efforts. The subsequent withdrawal of these countries from ECOWAS on January 28, 2024, was a protest against what they perceived as the organization’s compliance with foreign powers, unfair sanctions, and a departure from its founding principles.

Nacanabo’s remarks underscore a significant shift in the geopolitical landscape of West Africa, with the AES positioning itself as a pivotal entity in terms of natural resource distribution within the region.