Confederation of Sahel States (AES): Economy and Integration
Confederation of Sahel States: definition of the AES
The Confederation of Sahel States (AES) brings together Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. It succeeds the Alliance of Sahel States, founded by the Liptako-Gourma Charter on 16 September 2023, and was created by a treaty signed in Niamey on 6 July 2024. The three states left ECOWAS, with effect from 29 January 2025.
Origin and status of the three states
The Liptako-Gourma Charter had first established a mutual defence alliance between the three countries. The 2024 treaty gave it the status of a confederation, with common institutions, a rotating presidency and three pillars: defence and security, diplomacy and development. Burkina Faso has held this presidency since 23 December 2025: Captain Ibrahim Traoré chairs the College of Heads of State.
On the monetary side, the three states have remained members of the West African Monetary Union: their currency is still the CFA franc issued by the BCEAO, and Mali has confirmed that it is staying in the WAEMU.
Institutions of the Confederation
The College of Heads of State, which held its second session in Bamako on 22 and 23 December 2025, is the supreme body. A first confederal Council of Ministers met on 20 December 2025 to review the outcome of the first-year roadmap, protocols on defence, diplomacy and development, and the rules for parliamentary sessions.
The Confederal Parliament has 45 members, drawn from the three countries, with a president and two vice-presidents. Its first session opened in Niamey on 24 August 2026. Ousmane Bougouma chairs its sessions, assisted by the Malian Malick Diaw and the Nigerien Mamoudou Harouna Djingarey. A roadmap for the second year was examined in Ouagadougou from 24 to 26 February 2026.
Economy, free movement and joint projects of the Confederation of Sahel States
The free movement of people and goods applies within the common area, with a biometric passport and an identity card specific to the Confederation. Niger has launched enrolment for this passport.
The financial side rests on the Confederal Bank for Investment and Development, intended to finance infrastructure, agriculture, energy and industrialisation. The three states have also developed joint media and are strengthening their cooperation within the Liptako-Gourma Authority.
The security side relies on a unified force, whose flag was handed over in Bamako on 20 December 2025 by Assimi Goïta, and on joint exercises. On the judicial side, the Confederation has withdrawn from the International Criminal Court and plans a Sahel criminal and human rights court of its own.
Relations with ECOWAS
Relations with the organisation that the three states left remain to be defined. ECOWAS is continuing discussions with the three states after the withdrawal, and its July 2026 summit examined the response to be given, without full consensus on a strategy.