The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Alieu Touray, has urged West Africans to embrace 2025 with optimism despite the turbulence of 2024. In a video message, he highlighted the region’s resilience amid challenges to peace, stability, and unity last year.

Key concerns include the withdrawal of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger from the bloc, with ECOWAS initiating a six-month transitional phase to reintegrate them. However, the plan faces resistance from the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). Mediation efforts by the Senegalese and Togolese presidents continue in pursuit of a resolution.

Dr. Touray reaffirmed ECOWAS’s commitment to addressing regional integration, security, human rights, trade, and the fight against terrorism in 2025.