Recent reports have indicated that the West African country of Togo could be joining the Alliance of the Sahel States (AES).
- Togo is considering joining the Alliance of the Sahel Region (AES).
- Togolese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Robert Dussey, expressed openness to the idea.
- Togo’s potential integration into the AES may lead to its withdrawal from ECOWAS.
While this is not officially in the works yet, a member of the West African country’s administration, recently threw out the idea.
He, the Togolese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Robert Dussey, noted that the suggestion of Togo being intergrated into the young regional group is not far fetched.
“It is the decision of the president of the republic, but it is not impossible,” he said to Voxafrica during an interview on Thursday.
Speaking further on the subject, the Togolese minister also deplored the absence of true sovereignty on the continent, noting that “Africa is only used to serve the great powers, and this is not normal.”
Assimi Goïta’s ascension to power in Mali “is an opportunity” for the Sahelian country, the minister also emphasized, as seen on Sputnik.
“Ask the Togolese people if they want to join the AES, I think they’d say yes,” Dussey added.
Should Togo opt to join the AES, its is very likely that the city and port of Lome, Togo, would be open to maritime cooperation with the three landlocked countries of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, that currently make up the AES.
Also, should the idea come to fruition, it almost certainly means that Togo, which is currently a member state of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), would be pulling out of the group, given its socio-political differences with the AES.
ECOWAS vs the AES
The three West African countries that make up the AES sharply exited ECOWAS in January of this year, citing the organization’s alleged lack of support for their efforts to combat terrorism, and its subservience to former colonial power France.
The three nations that they have overthrown previous governments through coups and concluded that they no longer wish to be part of the West African Bloc.
ECOWAS immediately responded to their secession by declaring that it will take the necessary steps to bring the nations back to their original bloc, including enforcing economic sanctions against them.
However, in December, the Alliance of Sahel States officially received approval from ECOWAS confirming their withdrawal from ECOWAS.
The announcement was made by the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Alieu Touray, on the 15 of December during the 66th Ordinary Session of Heads of State and Government in Abuja.
