First joint summit between the leaders of the juntas of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger

Published on: 07/04/2024 – 22:46

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The military leaders of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger will hold their first joint summit on Saturday since taking power in a series of coups, Nigerien authorities said.

“Our country will host on Saturday, July 6, the first summit of heads of state of the AES (Alliance of Sahel States) of Burkina, Mali and Niger,” they said in a statement read on public radio.

Nigerien junta leader Abdourahamane Tiani will host Burkinabe President Ibrahim Traore and Malian President Assimi Goita in Niamey from Friday before the summit, the source said.

Their meeting will take place on the eve of a summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

The three countries announced their withdrawal from the major bloc in January and the remaining members have called for their re-entry.

The AES is an economic and defense pact.

All three juntas are hostile toward their countries’ former colonial power, France, and other Western countries and have turned to other partners such as Russia, Turkey and Iran.

In mid-May, the foreign ministers of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger agreed in Niamey on a draft text creating the confederation, which the heads of state should adopt at the summit on Saturday.

The three countries, faced with deadly jihadist violence, also want to create a common currency.

(AFP)