WAEMU harmonises views ahead of ECOWAS summit on Mali
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (PANA) - Heads of State and Government of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) have opened an extraordinary session in Accra on Mali to harmonise their views ahead of another ECOWAS summit on the same issue.
"I declare open the extraordinary session of the Conference of Heads of State and Government of WAEMU on the situation in Mali," said the Burkinabe president, Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, current chairman of WAEMU.
Mr. Kaboré explained that while the transitional authorities in Mali had committed themselves to organising elections in February 2022, the transitional government recently published a timetable at the end of the national conference for refoundation, extending the duration of the transition from 6 months to 5 years.
"Obviously, the extension of the transition period to five years is of concern to the whole West African region," he said, stressing that ECOWAS is still not pleased with that option.
"This is why I felt it was necessary to meet within WAEMU, our sub-regional organisation, of which Mali is also a member, to harmonise our points of view before ECOWAS summit," he said.
"As much as we are aware of the complexity of the situation in this country, we are convinced that all political, economic and social reforms aimed at rebuilding Mali can only be carried out by democratically elected authorities," he warned.
He maintained that he remained convinced that this session would lead to proposals favourable to stability and security within our sub-region.
-0- PANA NTDD/IS/BBA/VAO 9Jan2022
