HIBAPRESS-RABAT-According to Policy center
Aiming to put into practice their ambitions of rapprochement and densification of links, the three States, Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, declare that they are on the path to creating the Confederation of Sahel States. Indeed, according to a statement by the President of the Transition of Burkina Faso, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, ministers belonging to the three States of the Alliance met on February 16 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, to revise the Charter of the Alliance and develop a Treaty on the Confederation of Sahel States bringing together Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
In the same vein, a press release from the Burkinabe presidency specifies that “The experts have, in fact, led reflection on subjects of common interest to the people of the three States and developed a draft treaty relating to the creation of a Confederation bringing together the three countries; They also formulated proposals for an institutional architecture of the Alliance of Sahel States which should enable it to function effectively.
Things therefore seem to be moving very quickly on the path to bringing together the three States in an institutional framework which, without achieving perfect union, can be expressed under the banner of a Confederation making it possible to pool resources and facilitate the community. of perception and accelerate the march towards a potential or possible union.
The problematic question posed by the initiative is not that of the speed with which the stages of creating institutional structures with a view to a form of federative or confederative union are carried out, but rather that of resistance to to the vagaries of time and circumstances of this structure to establish itself over time.
The success of this structure and its progress towards a unified path certainly has economic, social, political, cultural and natural levers to ensure successful institutional rapprochement; but can they resist the objective and artificial obstacles that litter this path? How far will the agreement between these three states go, and can they implement their project over time? The action to be taken is not only multiple and diverse but also complex, it must be:
-Diplomatic: the three States must, without haste, negotiate all the clauses which must ensure the sustainability of the project and its success, without upsetting those around them or exacerbating the suspicions and hostilities of their neighbors. ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States), the community to which the three countries belong, is already showing a certain animosity to the extent that it considers that the takeover of power by the new regimes is unconstitutional;
-Economic: Mali, Niger and Burkina must resolve the question of integrating the economies of the three states and create a closer economic union, by harmonizing tax policies, trade regulations and economic infrastructure. They must, if not resolve the effects of economic relations with ECOWAS, at least chart new paths for relations and exchanges with this community;
-Politics: the action of the members of the alliance will have to convince the political forces and populations of the States to support such a union, which may require long awareness campaigns, public debates and internal institutional reforms in each State;
-Security: the action must strengthen interoperability between the armies of the three Member States and create a common defense framework, which could include mutual defense agreements or the creation of a common defense force;
-Cultural and social: the action must encourage cultural and social exchanges between the populations of the three States to promote a feeling of common identity and solidarity.
These actions would require considerable political commitment from alliance leaders and a willingness to compromise on the part of all three states. They should also take into account the cultural, political and economic diversities of each State. The process is long and complex and requires careful preparation.
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