Hommam Al Nassim 
Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have made strides towards establishing a confederation of the Sahel Alliance following their withdrawal from the West African Economic Community (ECOWAS).
The foreign ministers of the three countries met in the Nigerien capital, Niamey, to finalize the initial version of the founding treaty of the confederation.
During the meeting, the ministers held in-depth discussions on the legal and regulatory framework of the new confederation, and key strategies to improve coordination among the coalition countries.
The final communiqué of the meeting affirmed the commitment to operationalize the Confederation with the adoption of the Liptako-Gourma Pact, which was signed on September 16, 2023, and represents the formal basis for future cooperation.
The Ministers welcomed several initiatives to enhance cooperation, including the establishment of the National Commission of Niger to activate the Union and Burkina Faso’s proposal to develop guidelines for joint diplomatic action.
The importance of developing a unified communications strategy and establishing solidarity mechanisms within the environmental body of the coalition countries was emphasized.
The Liptako-Gourma Pact is a regional defense agreement between the three Sahel countries that aims to create a joint defense alliance to counter common security threats, including terrorist groups and armed movements operating in the region.
The agreement came after a wave of political and military transformations that led to the departure of French forces and represents a mechanism to strengthen regional cooperation in the fight against terrorism, and a step towards military integration and unification of efforts against security risks in the region.
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