Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso will eventually return to ECOWAS, says Tuggar

Yusuf Tuggar, minister of foreign affairs, says he is optimistic about the return of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). 

The three junta-led nations exited the regional bloc in February 2024 following a series of military coups and economic sanctions.

They subsequently formed the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).

During their first summit held in July, the AES said they had “irrevocably turned their backs” on ECOWAS.

The countries said they would instead turn to Russia, Turkey and Iran — their “sincere partners”.

In March, the AES imposed a 0.5 percent import duty on goods from ECOWAS. The group said the levy is intended to generate revenue to fund the alliance’s activities.

Speaking on Friday when he hosted a delegation led by Memounatou Ibrahima, ECOWAS parliament’s speaker, in Abuja, Tuggar said ECOWAS is ready and willing to receive the AES back into the bloc.

The minister added that despite their exit, Nigeria and other member countries would continue to relate with them as neighbours and work together in certain areas for mutual benefits.

“We will continue to work hard towards the success of ECOWAS and all member states, including the three recently withdrawn ones, we are encouraging them to come back,” Tuggar said.

“As we keep saying, we have not closed the door on their return, we are confident that they will return because they are part and parcel of the region, it is just a matter of time.”

The minister urged the media to de-emphasise the exits and instead focus on the subregion’s economic development.

He also appealed to other West African stakeholders to highlight the positive developmental projects in the remaining 12 ECOWAS countries.

Tuggar listed the projects to include the West African Power Pool, ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation scheme, Abidjan-Lagos corridor, and the Abidjan-Dakar corridor.

In her remarks, Ibrahima said the visit was part of parliament’s efforts to strengthen inter-governmental relations and democratic governance ahead of its 25th anniversary in November.

She told the minister that the delegation visited him to provide updates as well as present future goals.

“We are working on how we can have some capability and enhancement so that we can have more legislative role in the ECOWAS community,” she said.

“We are looking at how we can support ECOWAS in all their programmes and activities.”