Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger Republic will officially end their membership in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) by January 29, 2025. This decision was part of the resolutions from the 66th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, held in Abuja.

In a communiqué read by Omar Touray, President of the ECOWAS Commission, the bloc acknowledged and respected the decision of the three Sahel countries to withdraw. It also established a six-month transitional period from January 29 to July 29, 2025, during which negotiations mediated by Senegalese President Macky Sall and Togolese President Faure Gnassingbé will continue.

During the transition period, ECOWAS remains open to the possibility of the three nations rejoining the bloc. According to Article 91 of the revised ECOWAS treaties, member states are sovereign and can choose to withdraw.

The communiqué commended the diplomatic efforts of the ECOWAS leadership, including Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to resolve issues with the three countries.

ECOWAS has tasked its Council of Ministers with preparing a separation framework and contingency plans for political and economic relations with the withdrawing nations. An extraordinary session will be held in the second quarter of 2025 to finalize these plans if the countries do not return to the bloc.