On June 1 of this year, a conference was held in Dakar on the prospects of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). created in September 2023, this union brings together three countries including Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. The participants present in the room discussed the advantages of Senegal’s cooperation with these three Sahel countries as part of the development of the region.
Taking part in this unprecedented meeting were members of the UMOJA Pan-African Defense League, the Front for a Popular and Pan-African Anti-Imperialist Revolution (FRAPP), the National Commission of Civil Society Actors for the Monitoring of Public Policies, of the African Network of Women Scientists and Engineers as well as the Deputy Secretary General of the African Patriots of Senegal for work, ethics and fraternity (PASTEF).
On the menu of the conference, “The Alliance of Sahel States, a new platform for the regional integration of Senegal”, the speakers removed the ambiguity in the area of security and monetary. Some believe that the initiative to create a new, stronger and sovereign Community was useful and this is interpreted as being a voice towards total independence for Africa.
“ I think that the AES is a new regional security platform for the integration of Senegal. This integration will be conditioned by the relationship that Senegal decides to maintain with the AES entity. It also remains to be seen whether Senegal will act as an intermediary between the AES and ECOWAS since the AES is planning towards a common currency different from the CFA franc. », Estimated Mac Mic, member of the Tekki Groupe group.
Given the situation prevailing in the region, several subjects were discussed independently. However, particular attention was paid to the monetary situation and the review of contracts signed with foreign companies. These are the concomitant points between the AES and Senegal of President Bassirou newly elected to the supreme office.
Indeed, Mac Mic thinks that although we do not know what the transitional governments hear about the new currency, Senegal, through its posture of currency change, should think about it, in addition, the fact that the Ministries of foreign affairs of the AES countries are changed to Ministries of African Integration and Foreign Affairs is a good signal for Senegal’s integration into this bloc. These countries want to leave the CFA Franc, and free themselves from foreign military bases and Senegal is also doing the same, especially the renegotiation of hydrocarbon contracts. All these desires are shared with the AES countries.
Addressing the question of the country’s sovereignty, Mac Mic noted that the Senegalese economy is today owned by foreign companies: “ We do not control our financial institutions or our currency “. Without the AES, Senegal will not be able to move forward on the path to sovereignty, he concluded.
At the end of this conference, the participants drafted a communiqué in which they prescribed the recommendations of civil society for the future policy of Senegal in the region and with regard to the AES countries made to the Government of the Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko. After two hours of discussions, the speakers concluded that the AES was a political bloc with very specific ambitions and that it was not necessary to move towards a rupture at the risk of suffering a security disruption which is a major challenge .
