Mali’s Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop has maintained that the exit of his country, Burkina Faso and Niger Republic, from the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, is irreversible despite reconciliatory efforts from the union.
Recalls that the military juntas in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso broke away from regional grouping, ECOWAS, earlier this year and formed a confederation of their own on Saturday.
ECOWAS Heads of State assembled in Abuja a day later and appointed the presidents of Senegal and Togo as mediators of dialogue with the three Sahel states.
According to Diop, Mali is ready to cooperate with ECOWAS but it’s against the possible introduction of visas for nationals of the three countries travelling within the bloc.
“Our Heads of State were very clear in Niamey when they said the withdrawal of the three countries from ECOWAS is irrevocable and was done without delay, and from now on we must stop looking in the rear-view mirror,” Diop said.
Mali remains “open to working with our neighbours and other organisations with which we share this space,” he added.
“We will have to maintain discussions with others in order to move forward, but I believe that the path we have embarked upon is not reversible.”