Nigeria has reaffirmed its commitment to regional unity and cooperation, calling for stronger collaboration between the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Confederation of Sahel States (AES) to address shared security and economic challenges.
The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye made the commitment at the inaugural Ministerial Dialogue on Cooperation between ECOWAS and the AES, held in Dakar, Senegal.
According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Oluwafemi Adeniyi, the meeting was convened to establish a framework for structured dialogue and cooperation between the two regional blocs, guided by fraternity, mutual respect and their shared historical and socio-cultural ties.
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Enikanolaiye emphasised the strategic importance of the dialogue to Nigeria and the wider West African region, noting that the peoples of ECOWAS and the AES countries share strong bonds of geography, history, culture and social interconnectedness.
He stressed the need to build on these ties to tackle common challenges, including the management of the free movement of persons, goods and services, insecurity, terrorism, inadequate infrastructure, poverty and food insecurity.
The minister noted that closer regional cooperation was essential to addressing emerging threats and promoting sustainable development across West Africa.
As part of efforts to strengthen bilateral relations, Enikanolaiye disclosed that Nigeria was taking proactive steps to revive dormant Joint Commissions with Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso.
He said the initiative was aimed at revitalising direct bilateral cooperation, promoting economic integration and strengthening security partnerships between Nigeria and the three Sahelian countries.
A key outcome of the dialogue was an agreement by the participating parties to establish joint thematic working groups to examine identified areas of cooperation.
The groups are expected to facilitate technical exchanges and harmonise perspectives towards developing a comprehensive cooperation framework agreement to guide future relations between ECOWAS and the AES Confederation.
The meeting brought together the foreign ministers of the three AES member countries, alongside the ECOWAS Chair of the Council of Ministers, Cheikh Niang, who is Senegal’s Minister of African Integration, Foreign Affairs and Senegalese Abroad.
Also in attendance was the Coordinator of the AES Council of Ministers, Karamoko Jean-Marie Traoré, Burkina Faso’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Cooperation and Burkinabe Abroad.
At the conclusion of the meeting, participating delegations expressed appreciation to Senegal’s President, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who chairs the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, as well as the Senegalese government and people, for hosting the dialogue and providing warm hospitality.
The delegations also commended Senegal’s commitment to advancing regional integration.
Reaffirming Nigeria’s position, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the country remained determined to work closely with regional partners to establish a balanced and realistic framework for cooperation.
It added that such a framework must guarantee the sovereignty, dignity and well-being of all West African citizens while strengthening regional solidarity and addressing the challenges confronting the sub-region.
