Abuja, Nigeria – West African nations have named former Guinean Prime Minister Lansana Kouyaté as chief negotiator to restore dialogue with Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso, three countries that left the regional bloc last year.
The trio, all ruled by military juntas that took power between 2020 and 2023, withdrew from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in January 2025 and formed the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). Since then, they have drawn closer politically to Moscow and criticized coastal West African countries maintaining ties with France, the region’s former colonial power.
Kouyaté, who also served as ECOWAS executive secretary, confirmed to AFP that he had been tasked with acting as the “chief negotiator with the AES countries.” An ECOWAS source in Abuja said the appointment aims to “bring the peoples of the West African community closer together.” A Sierra Leonean presidency source described Kouyaté as “a great diplomat” whose experience could help rebuild regional ties.
Previous mediation attempts have struggled to convince the junta-led states to return to ECOWAS. In July 2024, Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye was assigned as mediator, while Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama visited the three countries in March 2025. Both efforts failed.
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The AES nations face severe internal security challenges, battling long-running jihadist insurgencies linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, which further complicates diplomatic efforts.
Kouyaté’s appointment marks a renewed push by ECOWAS to stabilize a fragmented West Africa and to bridge the growing political and security divides in the Sahel region.
