A two-day high-level meeting of the Alliance of Sahel States AES is underway in Bamako as a prelude to the meeting of Foreign Affairs Ministers to validate the strategic documents relating to the operationalization of the Confederation.

The meeting of the senior officials is being under the co-presidency of the delegations of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.

The Malian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in a statement said discussions of the senior officials will focus on three main areas of competence.

These are Defense and Security, Diplomacy, and Development.

However, the officials’ primary attention will be on the “Diplomacy” pillar to identify concrete actions to strengthen the diplomatic coordination of Member States on major geopolitical issues.

At the end of the meeting, they will submit recommendations to the Ministers of Foreign Affairs for the upcoming ministerial phase.

It should be noted that the Confederation of Sahel States (AES) was officially created on July 6, 2024, in Niamey, during a summit bringing together the heads of state of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.