A first extraordinary G5 Sahel summit was held on Monday 20 February in N’Djamena without Mali. At the end of this meeting, the Heads of State of the Organisation reiterated their will to preserve and consolidate this important framework of cooperation and coordination between the four countries. These are Chad, Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Niger.
Placed under the theme “Regional cooperation in development and security”, this 6th extraordinary summit of the coalition is devoted to the relaunch of the activities of the G5 Sahel after the withdrawal of Mali in May 2022. Indeed, following the failure to hold the 8th ordinary session in February 2022, which was supposed to mark the start of Mali’s presidency of the G5 Sahel, Mali slammed the door on all the coalition’s bodies and authorities, including the joint counter-terrorism force.
In his inaugural address, the current chairman of the G5 Sahel, Chad’s transitional president Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, admitted that the withdrawal of Mali, a founding member of the G5 Sahel, was a blow to the organisation. For this reason, the Heads of State insisted on the importance of mobilising the international community alongside the member countries and called for the involvement and commitment of all partners to support the new dynamic.
The meeting was attended by the presidents of Niger Mohamed Bazoum, Mauritania Mohamed ould El Ghazaouani, Chad Mahamat Déby, as well as the Minister of Defence of Burkina Faso Kassoum Coulibaly, assisted by the Vice President of the World Bank, Ousmane Diagana.
At the end of the meeting, the Heads of State and Delegation decided that the President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, Mr Mohamed Ould Cheikh El GHAZOUANI, would hold the Presidency of the organisation. Mahamat Déby, whom the Heads of State congratulated for his efforts and the results obtained during his term at the head of the Organisation, has therefore passed the baton to Mauritania. The next Ordinary Summit of the Organisation will be held in Niamey, Republic of Niger.
