Ministers from Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have met in Ouagadougou to review progress on the Alliance of Sahel States' (AES) second-year roadmap, as the three military-led countries deepen their political, security and economic cooperation.

The Council of Ministers session, held on 11 and 12 November, was tasked with examining work carried out under the roadmap's three pillars - defence and security, diplomacy, and development - and drawing up recommendations ahead of the next meeting of the confederation's College of Heads of State.

Who chaired the talks

The opening ceremony was chaired by Burkina Faso's Minister of State for War and Patriotic Defence, Major General Celestin Simpore. He was joined by Bassolma Bazie, president of the AES Confederation's national commission, Foreign Minister Karamoko Jean Marie Traore, Economy and Finance Minister Dr Aboubakar Nacanabo, and Communication Minister Pingdwende Gilbert Ouedraogo, alongside ministerial delegations and experts from Mali and Niger.

A bloc built on shared security

The AES was formed in 2023 as a mutual defence pact and raised to a confederation in 2024. Its members face continuing security challenges, including attacks by jihadist and Tuareg rebel groups, and have pooled their forces in a joint military structure while turning away from former partners including France.

The meeting follows a tour of fellow AES capitals by Mali's President, General Assimi Goita, who visited Niamey last week before travelling on to Ouagadougou for talks with Burkina Faso's leader, Captain Ibrahim Traore. The ministers' review is intended to carry that work forward and to consolidate the confederation as it enters its third year.