Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger look to form a federation | Africanews
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The foreign ministers of the three Sahelian nations recommended on Friday (Dec. 01) creating a confederation as part of a long-term goal of uniting the West African neighbours within a federation. In mid-September, the military leaders of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger signed a mutual defence pact.

The foreign ministers of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger recommended on Friday (Dec. 01) creating a confederation as part of a long-term goal of uniting the West African neighbours within a federation.

The top diplomats of the Alliance of Sahel States met in Bamako for two days.

Their discussions aimed to flesh out the workings of the new alliance, with the ministers emphasising the importance of diplomacy, defence and development “to consolidate political and economic integration”.

Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop said the recommendations will be submitted to each head of state, who are due to meet in Bamako at an unspecified date.

  • Zaktor@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    21·
    7 months ago

    All three countries are ruled by military juntas after relatively recent coups. The mutual defense treaty was in response to threats by other West Africans nations to invade to reestablish civilian rule in Niger.

    • livus@kbin.social
      3·
      7 months ago

      BF and Mali already had a defense treaty before Niger but basically for the same reason.

  • NOT_RICK@lemmy.worldEnglish
    13·
    7 months ago

    Sounds like they want a counterbalance to ECOWAS. With Sierra Leone also facing a coup that I will speculate would have also been in alignment with this alliance, it’s getting real dicey in West Africa

    • livus@kbin.social
      33·
      7 months ago

      Yes I think that’s what’s happening too.

      All the coup leaders were trained by the US military iirc, who have a big presence in the Sahel.

  • jantin@lemmy.worldEnglish
    62·
    7 months ago

    Is that a ploy from Russians who are too cheap to bribe three juntas at the same time and want to consolidate assets?

    • livus@kbin.social
      9·
      7 months ago

      No. These are former French colonies, more recently former French client states, poor nations who live in a resource-rich region where there is also a “war on terror” (mostly due to the resource curse and climate change).

      They all have juntas because of coups. They all have Russians because all they needed to replace French mitary with some other military.

      Since they are no longer democratic, they are all looked on unfavourably by their neighbours in ECOWAS which is an economic bloc of West African States. That’s why they have a mutual defense treaty. It’s also why they are thinking about economic cooperation.