Panafrican News Agency

ECOWAS invites Malian president to Accra, but says will be represented

Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (PANA) - The heads of state of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have invited Mali to an extraordinary summit on Mali in Accra, Ghana, on Friday, 25 March, an official source said.

However, the source said the president of the Malian transition will be represented at the summit.

In a note addressed to ECOWAS, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mali explained that Colonel Assimi Goïta, President of the Transition, Head of State, will not be able to take part in the extraordinary session of the Conference of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS scheduled for 25 March 2022 in Accra, Ghana.

"However, the President of the Transition expresses his availability to interact during the said session with his peers by video conference on any point relating to the situation in Mali," the statement said.

In this perspective, the Ministry informed the Commission that a delegation led by Abdoulaye Diop, Minister of Foreign Affairs, will travel to represent the Republic of Mali.

It is recalled that the sanctions imposed on Mali on 9 January by the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) were suspended on Thursday by the Court of Justice of the institution.

"We order the suspension of the execution of the sanctions pronounced by the Conference of Heads of State and Government of WAEMU during its extraordinary session held in Accra on January 9, 2022 and contained in the final communiqué," read the court's decision.

Several sanctions had been taken against Mali, while the ruling junta, headed by Assimi Goïta, had proposed five years for the duration of the transition.

These included the closure of borders with member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the suppression of commercial and financial transactions, with the exception of medical and petroleum products, and the freezing of Mali's assets.

-0- PANA TNDD/IS/SOC/BBA/RA 24March2022