ECOWAS-AES negotiations: what the Dakar meeting changes

On 17 October 2026, in Dakar, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) confederation, which brings together Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, held their first formal negotiating session since the three countries’ withdrawal took effect on 29 January 2025. No agreement was signed. The two organisations agreed to set up joint working groups tasked with preparing a cooperation framework agreement.

For a company, an NGO or an institution operating between the central Sahel and the coastal countries, the question is simple: what changes, and when? This analysis reviews what was decided, the positions involved, the open issues and what to watch ahead of the ECOWAS summit scheduled for December 2026 in Abuja.

What happened in Dakar

The ministerial session on Saturday 17 October was co-chaired by Cheikh Niang, Senegal’s Minister of African Integration and Foreign Affairs, chair of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers, and by Karamoko Jean-Marie Traoré, Burkina Faso’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, chair of the AES Ministerial Steering Committee. The two men signed an eight-point joint communiqué.

Its content comes down to three decisions:

• joint working groups are set up to prepare a draft cooperation agreement between the two organisations;
• they will submit their conclusions to the ministers ahead of a forthcoming ministerial session;
• the date and venue of that session will be set through diplomatic channels.

The communiqué calls for a “balanced, realistic” cooperation framework that protects the interests of populations, while respecting the sovereignty of states and good neighbourliness. It publishes neither the list of groups, nor their composition, nor a timetable. Expert discussions were due to continue on 18 October.

The meeting brought together other actors: ECOWAS chief negotiator Lansana Kouyaté, the African Union special envoy for Mali and the Sahel, Mamadou Tangara, and the UN special representative for West Africa and the Sahel, Leonardo Simão. Nigeria was represented by its Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Sola Enikanolaiye.

How we got here

The Dakar session closes a sequence of nearly three years. The table below sets out its dated stages.

Source: ECOWAS and AES communiqués, Graphic Online, Sidwaya, Benin Web TV, Voice of Nigeria, as of 20 October 2026.

The context has also changed on the ECOWAS side. Senegal has chaired the organisation since the Freetown summit, and Senegalese General Birame Diop has been appointed to head its Commission. Dakar, which maintains close relations with Bamako, Ouagadougou and Niamey, has positioned itself as a facilitator: President Faye visited Bamako on 28 July 2026 and is calling on ECOWAS to move “from observations” to “action”. On Dakar’s role, see Senegal’s role in regional diplomacy.

The positions involved

The AES: negotiating “entity to entity”

AES ministers set their line in Ouagadougou on 16 October, after two days of expert work. It rests on four principles:

• a single voice: the three countries negotiate as a bloc, in line with the guidance of the Confederation’s College of Heads of State;
• two distinct organisations: the AES rules out any return to ECOWAS and is seeking a legal instrument to govern relations between the two groupings, according to Malian minister Abdoulaye Diop;
• the status quo on achievements: preserving “the achievements of 50 years of integration”, first and foremost the free movement of people and goods, according to the head of the Nigerien expert delegation, Ousmane Alhassane;
• a framework agreement setting priority sectors; the discussions in Niamey (February 2025) and Bamako (May 2025) had identified fourteen.

This line extends the Confederation’s institutional construction, detailed in our profile of the Alliance of Sahel States.

ECOWAS: a gradual approach

On the ECOWAS side, Cheikh Niang noted “substantial convergences” and argued for a “gradual, pragmatic and results-oriented” approach. According to RFI, Lansana Kouyaté considered that the three countries might one day return, but that no one can ask them to do so today. Nigeria, the organisation’s largest economy, reaffirmed its commitment to regional integration and its wish that the withdrawal should not damage ties between populations. Abuja expects the discussions to produce a general draft framework agreement to be submitted to the December summit.

The two parties therefore agree on the essentials: coexisting rather than reunifying, and protecting everyday exchanges. The political differences, however, have not disappeared. For their origin, see why ECOWAS is contested and the implications of the withdrawal of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.

The issues on the table

The communiqué does not name the topics of the working groups. The regional press cites five areas: movement of people and goods, infrastructure, development, peace and security, legal and institutional matters.

Movement of people

This is the most sensitive issue for populations and for employers. Since 29 January 2025, ECOWAS has applied transitional measures: it recognises the national passports and identity cards of nationals of the three countries that bear its logo, and these citizens can travel, reside and settle in the Community area without a visa. These measures remain valid until the Conference of Heads of State sets the terms of future relations. In Dakar, no new measure was announced on visas or border formalities.

Trade and customs

Goods and services originating in the three countries continue to be treated under the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme, still under the transitional measures. In parallel, the AES is building its own framework: a 0.5% confederal levy on imports since March 2025, and a preferential tariff for goods of AES origin, prepared in Ouagadougou from 12 to 16 October 2026. Togo’s customs, through the Togolese Revenue Office, were involved in this work on customs interconnection and securing transit, according to the director general of Burkina Faso’s customs, Yves Kafando. No rate or product list has been published. On the Confederation’s financial and customs instruments, see the financial sovereignty of the AES.

Peace and security

According to RFI, one working group will focus on counter-terrorism. The stakes are concrete: the jihadist threat is spilling over into northern Benin, Togo and Nigeria, while cooperation between forces on either side of the borders remains limited. The border between Benin and Niger, closed since August 2023, is the most visible example. See why attacks are increasing in northern Benin and how intelligence services really cooperate.

What this changes for exposed organisations

In the short term, nothing changes in the rules. In the medium term, three points deserve monitoring.

1. The rules on movement remain provisional

The regime that currently allows a Malian, Burkinabè or Nigerien employee to work in Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire or Togo without a visa rests on transitional measures, not on a treaty. Until the framework agreement is signed, it can be confirmed, adjusted or called into question by a decision of the Conference of Heads of State. HR and security teams managing regional staff would do well to follow the Abuja summit in December 2026.

2. Two customs frameworks to follow at the same time

A flow leaving Lomé, Cotonou, Abidjan or Dakar for Bamako, Ouagadougou or Niamey now crosses two regimes: that of ECOWAS and that of the AES, which is adopting rules of origin and a preferential tariff. The risk is not a sudden blockage, but procedural changes on entering the confederal area. These add to the already heavy security constraints on the routes, described in our analysis of trade corridors and our guide on road convoys.

3. Security cooperation still to be built

If a counter-terrorism component succeeds, it could improve information sharing at the borders between the central Sahel and the coastal countries. This is a signal to follow for organisations based in border areas, without expecting rapid effects: operational capabilities cannot be decreed in a communiqué. The map of security risks in West Africa locates the areas concerned.

What we do not yet know

• The groups’ mandate: neither their members, nor their exact topics, nor their deadlines have been made public.
• The text: no draft framework agreement has circulated. It is not known whether ECOWAS will accept a regime specific to the three countries.
• The timetable: the next ministerial session has neither a date nor a venue; the Abuja summit in December is the only known deadline.
• The red lines: the regional press mentions three “non-negotiable” points in the AES mandate, without detailing them.

To place this sequence in the context of regional news, see the October 2026 West Africa overview and the September overview.

Frequently asked questions

Will Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger return to ECOWAS?

There is no indication of this. The AES is explicitly negotiating “entity to entity” and rules out any return. On the ECOWAS side, chief negotiator Lansana Kouyaté does not rule out a return one day, but considers that it cannot be requested today.

Does an AES national need a visa in the ECOWAS area?

No, as of 20 October 2026. The transitional measures of 29 January 2025 maintain visa-free movement and the recognition of national documents bearing the ECOWAS logo. The Dakar session changed nothing in this regime.

What did the Dakar meeting of 17 October 2026 decide?

The creation of joint working groups tasked with preparing a cooperation framework agreement between ECOWAS and the AES. Their conclusions will be submitted to the ministers at a forthcoming session, the date of which has yet to be set.

When could an ECOWAS-AES agreement be concluded?

No date has been set. Nigeria expects a general draft framework agreement for the ECOWAS summit in December 2026 in Abuja, but there is no guarantee that it will be ready by then.

Sources

• Graphic Online, “Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger reopen talks with ECOWAS”, 18 October 2026
• Sidwaya, “AES-ECOWAS negotiations: experts align their views”, 14 October 2026
• Benin Web TV, “Customs: the AES prepares a preferential tariff and involves Togo in transit”, 13 October 2026
• Le Soleil, ECOWAS measures concerning citizens of AES countries, January 2025
• Voice of Nigeria, “ECOWAS-AES talks: Nigeria recommits to regional integration”, 16 October 2026