The Extraordinary Session of the Council of Ministers of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on the contingency plan and modalities on the withdrawal of Burkina Faso, Republics of Mali and Niger from ECOWAS holds from April 22 to 23, 2025, in Accra, Ghana.<\/p>\n
The meeting, mandated by the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government, is expected to consider contingency plans and separation modalities, including the impact on programs, the relocation of institutions, and the continued free movement of people and goods across the region.<\/p>\n
Welcoming delegates, Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa<\/strong>, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ghana, reaffirmed Ghana\u2019s dedication to the political and economic integration of West Africa. He praised the 50-year journey of ECOWAS and thanked the Authority of Heads of State and Government for entrusting Ghana with hosting the session. The meeting, he noted, is focused solely on discussing contingency plans following the formal withdrawal of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThough relations may be severed on paper, the realities on the ground tell a different story,\u201d he stated, emphasising the deep cultural and economic ties that bind West Africans. Hon. Ablakwa called for wisdom, tact, and unity in navigating this sensitive period and reaffirmed Ghana\u2019s commitment to working closely with all Member States and the ECOWAS Commission to safeguard regional cohesion and the well-being of all citizens.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In his speech, H.E. Dr. Omar Alieu Touray<\/strong>, President of the ECOWAS Commission, reaffirmed the Community\u2019s commitment to safeguarding its core values amid the formal withdrawal of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. He noted that while these countries have benefitted from longstanding integration efforts\u2014such as the Free Movement Protocol, ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS), and cross-sector regional development programs\u2014their exit, effective 29 January 2025, requires a coordinated response.<\/p>\n \u201cThis meeting is expected to consider and agree on our future relations with the AES countries,\u201d President Touray stated. He outlined the contingency plan developed across ECOWAS institutions, covering five critical areas: legal and institutional adjustments; market access and economic integration; peace and security cooperation; sectoral development programs; and human development, including education and health. He expressed confidence that all deliberations would be guided by the overarching goal of safeguarding the wellbeing of the region\u2019s people.<\/p>\n H.E. Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar<\/strong>, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Chair of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers, opened the Extraordinary Session of the Council with a call for unity and resilience as ECOWAS deliberates the unprecedented withdrawal of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger from the regional bloc.<\/p>\n While acknowledging the sovereignty of the departing states, Ambassador Tuggar urged Member States to remain focused on the long-term vision of regional integration and cooperation. He concluded by encouraging constructive deliberations and reaffirmed the Council\u2019s determination to protect and strengthen the ECOWAS legacy for future generations.<\/p>\n Burkina Faso and the Republics of Mali and Niger<\/strong> officially withdrew from ECOWAS<\/strong> on January 29, 2025<\/strong>, following the completion of a one-year notice period. This action was taken in accordance with the procedures outlined in the Revised ECOWAS Treaty of 1993<\/strong>, which governs the withdrawal of membership by Member States.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Extraordinary Session of the Council of Ministers of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on the contingency plan and modalities on the withdrawal of Burkina Faso, Republics of Mali and Niger from ECOWAS holds from April 22 to 23, 2025, in Accra, Ghana. The meeting, mandated by the Authority of ECOWAS Heads […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":113993,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[300,480,12,35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-113992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-news","category-info-cedeao-2","category-news","category-press-releases"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecowas.int\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113992","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecowas.int\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecowas.int\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecowas.int\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecowas.int\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=113992"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecowas.int\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113992\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":113999,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecowas.int\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113992\/revisions\/113999"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecowas.int\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/113993"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecowas.int\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=113992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecowas.int\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=113992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecowas.int\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=113992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}