AES Nations Forge Unprecedented Union with Joint Security and Economic Pact

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso – In a historic move signaling a definitive shift towards regional self-reliance, the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) – comprising Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger – has announced a sweeping new pact to establish a unified military command and deeply integrated economic policies. This bold initiative, unveiled following a summit in Ouagadougou, is being hailed by leaders as the cornerstone of a new, sovereign Sahelian bloc, purpose-built to reduce dependency on Western powers and external institutions.

The agreement, dubbed the “Confederation Accord,” represents the most concrete step yet in the three nations’ journey away from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and former colonial ruler France, towards a model of cooperation rooted in Pan-Africanist principles.

A Unified Front: The Joint Security Command

At the heart of the accord is the creation of an integrated AES Joint Military Task Force. This force is mandated to coordinate all security operations against the jihadist insurgencies plaguing the tri-border region.

• Shared Intelligence & Strategy: The task force will operate under a single command structure, pooling intelligence resources and conducting cross-border operations without the bureaucratic hurdles that previously hampered regional efforts.
• Symbolic Significance: “The enemy knows no borders, and so our defense will know no borders,” declared Niger’s Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine. “This is not an alliance of convenience; it is a fusion of our sovereign wills for our collective survival. We will defend ourselves, by ourselves, for ourselves.”

This move is seen as a direct embodiment of the late Burkinabé revolutionary Thomas Sankara’s doctrine of national and regional self-defense, challenging the long-standing reliance on foreign military partnerships like the former French-led Operation Barkhane.

Economic Sovereignty: Weaving a New Trade Fabric

Beyond security, the pact aggressively targets economic independence, aiming to dismantle the neo-colonial trade architectures that have long defined the region’s relationship with the West.

• Common Currency & Financial System: Plans are underway to fast-track the development of a shared financial payment system and to further study the feasibility of a common currency, reducing transaction costs and dependence on the CFA Franc and the Euro.
• Resource Nationalism: A key pillar involves the collective renegotiation of mining contracts with foreign multinational corporations. The AES nations, rich in gold, uranium, and other critical minerals, intend to leverage their combined bargaining power to secure a more significant share of revenues for domestic development.
• Food Sovereignty: Inspired by Burkina Faso’s recent agricultural reforms, the bloc will prioritize internal food production and trade, creating a protected market for Sahelian farmers and shielding the population from volatile global food prices.

“How can a man be free if he must beg his neighbor for food?” asked Captain Ibrahim Traoré of Burkina Faso, echoing Sankara’s famous rhetoric. “How can a nation be sovereign if it does not control the wealth beneath its own soil? This alliance is our answer. We are not just building a security pact; we are building an economic revolution for the Sahelian people.”

A Pan-African Blueprint?

The formation of the AES Confederation is being closely watched across Africa. For some, it represents a dangerous fragmentation of West Africa. But for its proponents and many Pan-Africanists, it is a radical experiment in a new form of regionalism—one born not from colonial-era boundaries but from shared contemporary challenges and a common political vision.

It poses a critical question to the continent: Can smaller, ideologically-aligned blocs prove more effective in delivering security and prosperity than larger, more politically diverse bodies?

As the AES nations move to implement this ambitious accord, they are weaving a new tapestry of cooperation. Their success or failure will not only determine the fate of the Sahel but could also provide a powerful new blueprint for Pan-African solidarity in the 21st century.