ECOWAS and Sahel Confederation launch joint working groups to reshape post-split trade ties

At a foreign-minister level meeting in Dakar on Oct. 17, ECOWAS and the Confederation of Sahel States (AES) pledged to create joint working groups that will negotiate a technical framework for future cooperation, with conclusions to be reviewed by ministers later. The decision builds on May 2025 consultations in Bamako that sought to manage the fallout of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger’s Jan. 2025 exit from ECOWAS. While political ties were severed, trade corridors, visa-free movement and the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme have continued under interim measures.

The negotiations aim to codify customs procedures, transit rights and market access, crucial for the landlocked Sahel economies that rely on ports in Togo, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. Security cooperation remains a major hurdle, as insurgent activity crosses borders shared by both blocs. Monetary links also persist, with the three AES states remaining members of the CFA-franc UEMOA alongside several ECOWAS members, limiting the economic separation. The working groups will therefore have to balance political realities with practical interdependence.