The three Sahel states of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso have completed their plans to form a confederation. The foreign ministers of the three countries agree on the text of the treaty for the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), Niger’s Foreign Minister Bakary Yaou Sangaré announced after Friday’s meeting in Niamey.
The treaty is to be adopted at a summit meeting of the heads of the military governments ruling in the three countries. No further details on the content of the treaty or the date of a summit meeting were given.
The three Sahel states have broken off their relations with former colonial ruler and long-time security ally France and have increasingly turned to Russia. Last year they decided to form a confederation. In January they announced that they would withdraw from the Economic Community of West African States, Ecowas.
Ecowas had imposed sanctions on all three countries for overthrowing democratically elected governments in a series of coups since 2020. The reason for the military coups was also anger at civilian governments that had failed to contain jihadist violence.