The heads of state and government of Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Niger, and Chad will meet in N’Djamena on February 20, 2023, as part of the G5 Sahel. The fight against transnational threats is on the discussion menu. It is the first extraordinary summit of this regional organization and takes place without Mali, which closed its doors in May 2022.
While the African Union (AU) summit ended on February 19, 2023, in Addis Ababa, another opened on Monday 20 in Ndjamena: an extraordinary G5 Sahel summit.
For one day, it brings together the leaders of four African countries: Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Niger, and Chad.
On the menu of discussions, is the fight against transnational threats: terrorism, organized crime, and illegal immigration in the region.
This is the first G5 Sahel summit since 2021 and the death of former Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno, and the profound change in the security situation in the Sahel.
A four-member G5 Sahel
Absent from this meeting – but without any real surprise – Mali, since the announcement in 2022 of its withdrawal from this regional organization and its anti-jihadist military force.
Mali has slammed the door on the G5, it has crossed the line to prevent it from assuming the rotating presidency as planned. The point in question is the Nigerien opposition, which has developed a Malian political context, namely the transition from the 2020 military coup. An argument Bamako finds inadmissible.