Outgoing ECOWAS President Bola Tinubu called on Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger to return to the regional bloc, at the opening of the 67th Ordinary Summit on June 22 in Abuja.
The summit, which marks ECOWAS’s 50th anniversary, comes amid major regional shifts following the formal withdrawal of the three countries in January 2025 to form the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
Tinubu made the appeal during his final address before handing over the ECOWAS presidency to Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio, emphasizing the importance of unity for West Africa’s future.
Recent signs of diplomatic thaw have surfaced, with a May 22 meeting in Bamako between ECOWAS and AES foreign ministers laying groundwork for potential negotiations on political, security, and economic cooperation.
Senegal and Ghana have stepped up mediation efforts, including high-level missions to Niamey and Ouagadougou.
The summit also addressed key challenges facing the region, including terrorism, economic recovery, democratic governance, and the slow progress in operationalizing the ECOWAS Standby Force.
