Top diplomats of West African breakaway alliance meet in Mali

By Oumar Sankare

BAMAKO, Mali (AA) - The top diplomats of the West African states of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso are meeting on Monday to “identify actions and measures” for coordination of diplomacy among the member nations of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).

Abdoulaye Diop of Mali, Jean Marie Karamoko Traore of Burkina Faso, and Niger's Bakary Yaou Sangare are meeting in Mali's capital Bamako, following preparatory meetings held since Friday by the alliance's senior officials.

“The responsibility … is to develop, consolidate, improve, finalize, and submit for validation by (Foreign) Ministers, the documents relating to the operationalization of the AES Confederation,” said Seydou Coulibaly, the general secretary of Mali's Foreign Ministry.

Coulibaly hosted senior officials from Niger and Burkina Faso over the weekend to prepare for the meeting of the top diplomats.

Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger are three junta-ruled nations that formed the AES last year on Sept. 16, and later announced the creation of a joint military force to counter spiraling security challenges posed in their countries by terror groups.

The three West African nations withdrew from the Economic Community of West African States, which had threatened to intervene militarily in Niger following a coup in that country last year in July.

The three countries, with a combined population of 72 million, are affected by instability caused by militant groups.

In July this year, the leaders of the three military regimes held their first joint summit in the Nigerien capital of Niamey, where they announced a confederation of three Sahel states.

Coulibaly said the meeting discussed measures for the coordination of diplomatic action and examined the draft texts linked to the establishment of the bodies under the AES Confederation.

They also discussed coordinating positions on bilateral and multilateral issues.

“The results of this meeting will have a significant impact on the establishment of the bodies of our Confederation and on the definition of our strategic vision for the years to come” he said.