AES Confederation Convenes Ouagadougou Workshop to Shape ECOWAS Consultation Strategy
OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso - The Confederation of Sahel States (AES) opened a three-day workshop in the Burkinabe capital on Tuesday to draft a strategic framework document intended to guide future negotiations with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The meeting, running from June 23 to 25, 2026, was inaugurated on Tuesday evening under the chairmanship of Ambassador Yirigouin Hermann Toé, Secretary-General of Burkina Faso's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Three delegations - composed of experts, diplomats, and senior officials from AES member states - are convened to produce proposals and define a common position on issues of shared concern before the confederation enters formal consultations with ECOWAS.
The agenda covers regional integration, the free movement of persons and goods, economic cooperation, and regional security - areas identified as central to any structured dialogue between the AES and the wider West African bloc.
The core objective of the workshop is to equip the AES with a unified orientation document before formal consultations with ECOWAS begin. By consolidating the positions of its member delegations in advance, the confederation aims to engage ECOWAS with a single, coordinated stance on key topics rather than allowing each state to advance separate national approaches. The strategic framework document produced in Ouagadougou is intended to serve as that shared reference point.
For Burkina Faso, the issues on the table carry direct, practical consequences. The free movement of persons and goods across West African borders is woven into the daily economic life of the country - for traders moving goods to markets in neighbouring states, for pastoralists following seasonal routes, and for families and workers with cross-border ties. Any framework that governs future AES-ECOWAS relations will shape the conditions under which those movements occur and the livelihoods they support.
Regional security features alongside economic cooperation and free movement as a priority agenda item, reflecting the weight that AES member states place on coordinating a shared stance on Sahel-wide security questions before entering formal dialogue with ECOWAS.
Ambassador Toé's chairmanship of the opening session signals the significance Ouagadougou attaches to this process. As Secretary-General of Burkina Faso's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he occupies a central position in the country's diplomatic structure, and his direct involvement in opening the workshop indicates that the Burkinabe government is actively engaged in defining the AES's approach to future ECOWAS consultations.
The three delegations are expected to complete their proposals by the close of the workshop on June 25. The resulting framework document is intended to guide the confederation's position in any subsequent formal consultation sessions with ECOWAS. A timeline for those sessions has not been confirmed.
Burkina Faso's economy, built around agriculture and livestock raising, recorded GDP growth of 4.8 percent in 2024, according to World Bank data. The International Monetary Fund projects growth of 4.9 percent for 2026. Regional trade flows and the cross-border movement of goods remain significant components of economic activity, underlining the material stakes of the diplomatic process set in motion this week in Ouagadougou
