Doha – Mali will officially withdraw from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on January 29, following a formal confirmation from the regional organization’s Commission President Omar Alieu Touray.
In a correspondence dated January 13, addressed to Mali’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Touray acknowledged the country’s withdrawal decision, which was initially communicated through a diplomatic note in January 2024.
The decision was formally recognized during ECOWAS’s 66th Conference of Heads of State and Government held in Abuja, Nigeria, on December 15, 2024, in accordance with Article 91 of the organization’s revised treaty.
To facilitate an orderly transition, ECOWAS has proposed technical meetings between both parties to discuss the withdrawal modalities. The exact date for these discussions will be determined through mutual consultation.
Mali’s exit is part of a broader withdrawal that includes Burkina Faso and Niger, which together form the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
The three nations have rejected ECOWAS’s six-month retraction period, criticizing what they describe as “destabilization maneuvers initiated by a handful of heads of state who impose their decisions and foreign agendas” within the organization.
ECOWAS has established a transition period from January 29 to July 29, 2025, during which the organization will maintain open channels for potential reintegration.
The presidents of Senegal and Togo have been appointed as mediators to continue dialogue with the three departing nations.
The withdrawal represents the largest fracture in West African regional cooperation since the organization’s founding, with implications for trade partnerships, regional security frameworks, and cross-border mobility agreements.
ECOWAS, established in 1975 and currently comprising 15 West African countries, has served as the primary vehicle for regional integration through economic and political coordination.
An extraordinary ECOWAS summit is scheduled for the end of the transition period to finalize the departure arrangements for the three Sahel countries. The three notably established their own coalition, the Confederation of the Alliance of Sahel States, on July 6, 2024.
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