The military rulers of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger will on Saturday hold their first joint summit since seizing power in a series of coups, Nigerien authorities said.
“Our country will be hosting on Saturday July 6 the first summit of the AES (Alliance of Sahel States) heads of state from Burkina, Mali and Niger,” they said in a statement read out on public radio.
Niger’s junta leader Abdourahamane Tiani will host Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso and Malian ruler Assimi Goita in Niamey from Friday ahead of the summit, the source said.
Their meeting will be held on the eve of a summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The three countries announced their withdrawal from that major bloc in January and its remaining members have called for them to rejoin.
The AES is an economic and defense pact.
The three juntas are hostile toward their countries’ former colonial ruler France and other western countries and instead have turned to other partners such as Russia, Turkey and Iran.
In mid-May, the foreign ministers of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger agreed in Niamey on a draft text creating the confederation, which the heads of states are expected to adopt at Saturday’s summit.
The three countries, which have faced deadly jihadist violence, also aim to create a common currency.
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