WEST AFRICAN LEADERS MEET TO DISCUSS MALI

WEST AFRICAN LEADERS MEET TO DISCUSS MALI

Subject :  International Relations

Context : West African leaders were due to meet in Ghana ahead of a extra ordinary of sumit of ECOWAS ,  to discuss a response to Mali’s second coup in last nine months.

Concept :

• Since 1960, when Mali gained independence from France, there have been five coups — and only one peaceful transition from one democratically elected president to another.
• Recent coup: Nine months ago, President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita was overthrown in the wake of mass anti-government protests. Last week, the announcement of a new cabinet was made that excluded two key military leaders. Following this, the army has detained the President and the Prime Minister.

About ECOWAS:

• It is a regional political and economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa.
• Established in 1975, with the signing of the Treaty of Lagos.
• The goal of ECOWAS is to achieve “collective self-sufficiency” for its member states by creating a single large trade bloc by building a full economic and trading union.
• It also serves as a peacekeeping force in the region.
• Considered one of the pillar regional blocs of the continent-wide African Economic Community (AEC).

ECOWAS includes two sub-regional blocs:

• The West African Economic and Monetary Union is an organisation of eight, mainly French-speaking states.
• The West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ), established in 2000, comprises six mainly English-speaking countries.

Sahel region of Africa

• It is a semi-arid region of western and north-central Africa extending from Senegal eastward to Sudan.
• It forms a transitional zone between the arid Sahara (desert) to the north and the belt of humid savannas to the south.
• The Sahel stretches from Senegal on the Atlantic coast, through parts of Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad and Sudan to Eritrea on the Red Sea coast.