ECOWAS appoints veteran diplomat to mediate with Sahel States

Lansana Kouyaté, a former Guinean prime minister, has been tasked with re-establishing dialogue with Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso after their withdrawal from the regional bloc last year.

West African states have appointed a new mediator to try to bridge the divide with three junta-led countries that quit the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in January 2025.

Lansana Kouyaté, a former Guinean prime minister and ex-ECOWAS executive secretary, confirmed to AFP that he had been named “chief negotiator with the AES countries”.

A fragmented region

Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso—all ruled by juntas that took power between 2020 and 2023—left ECOWAS to form their own Alliance of Sahel States (AES).

The trio has drawn closer politically to Moscow and repeatedly criticised coastal West African nations that maintain ties with former colonial power France.

An ECOWAS presidency source in Abuja said Kouyaté’s appointment aimed at “bringing the peoples of the west African community closer together”.

A Sierra Leonean presidency source called Kouyaté “a great diplomat” whose experience could help build ties.

Previous efforts fail

ECOWAS had previously tasked Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye with mediation in July 2024.

Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama also toured the three countries in March 2025, but neither succeeded in convincing the juntas to return.

All three AES nations are battling long-running jihadist insurgencies led by groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.