Hommam Al Nassim 
Senegalese President, Basserou Diomahi Faye, discussed with Malian leader, Assimi Goaita, in the Malian capital, Bamako, the issue of Mali remaining in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
“I understand Mali’s position, which, despite its rigidity, is not completely inflexible,” Fay said during his first official visit to Mali.
Fei stressed that all parties must work together to find positive ways to enhance integration, including through bilateral cooperation, and also “by trying to correct the mistakes we have observed in multilateral cooperation,” as he put it.
In the same context, Fay visited Burkina Faso on Thursday, and met with the head of the transitional authority, Ibrahim Traoré, in the capital, Ouagadougou.
“We also discussed the issue of ECOWAS, and today I understand that the positions are somewhat fixed, but I see in each of these positions a window that allows us to establish a thread of dialogue,” Faye said, according to the Communications Department of the Burkina Faso Presidency.
It is noteworthy that last January, Mali and its neighbors Niger and Burkina Faso, which are led by military juntas, announced their intention to withdraw from ECOWAS, the main political and economic bloc in West Africa.
The three countries have formed a defense and cooperation pact known as the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) and plan to create a union.
The diplomatic dispute between Niger and Benin over oil exports escalates