During John Mahama’s visit to Mali, the Ghanaian president met with the president of Mali, Assimi Goita, to discuss the insecurities in West Africa.
He essentially stated that trust between the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) must be restored.
“We will do everything possible to restore this trust,” he said, as he spoke about the tensions that caused Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali to exit their original regional bloc, ECOWAS, to form a bloc of their own.
“I’m an old face because I have been president before, I’ve been chairman of ECOWAS before, but again, I’m a new face… and so Ghana is prepared to play the role of a bridge between our two group the ECOWAS and the AES,” Mahama stated to the press after a closed-door meeting with his Malian counterpart.
“Everybody knows the historic relations that have existed between Ghana and Mali since the period of our ex-presidents, Keita and Dr. Kwame Nkrumah… and so I came on a friendly visit, and also to thank President Goita for allowing Prime Minister Maiga to visit Ghana when I was being inaugurated as president,” he stated, as per a press release from Ghana’s presidency.
In light of the cooperation between both countries, the two leaders discussed restoring the Mali-Ghana cooperation committee, which was last met in 2011.
Additionally, the two presidents spoke about increasing bilateral trade, particularly by developing the southern corridor, which makes it easier for commodities to move between Ghana and Mali.
To make these exchanges more effective, the president of Ghana emphasized the need to streamline customs procedures and upgrade infrastructure.
AES and ECOWAS
The three military-led West African states of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso officially withdrew from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on January 29, 2025.
They revealed their intention to leave their long-standing regional organization a year ago, citing the bloc’s subservience to former colonial powers and inability to back their counterterrorism activities.
Furthermore, for a little more than a year, the AES has been attempting to eliminate any traces of Western influence from their country. This involves renaming monuments after colonial names and cutting military connections with France.