On January 29, 2025, within rapidly geopolitical changes in West African region, three landlocked countries namely Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, members of the newly created Alliance of Sahel States (AES), declared their withdrawal from the most influential bloc – Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The first implication was that 2025 marks the 50th year of the establishment of ECOWAS. Undoubtedly, it will simultaneously remain in history of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) as the period of their exit from the 50-year-old regional bloc, established by the Treaty of Lagos in May 1975. Perhaps, ECOWAS has been fractured with uncertain future. On the other side, the AES will seemingly grow in strength as republics of Côte d’Ivoire, Chad, Ghana and Senegal have shown signs of unswerving support for the newly-created security organization in the region. Despite broader criticisms and emerging challenges, AES has the capacity to forge expected integration and to tackle existing diverse obstacles while navigating further for strategic external collaboration.
Source: Moderndiplomacy
