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Political analyst points to France's loss of supremacy in Africa amid weakening ECOWAS

Political analyst Andreev: Sahel Confederation's withdrawal from ECOWAS weakens France
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France is losing its dominance on the African continent. The withdrawal of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso from ECOWAS is a serious blow to Paris' economic dominance in the region. Ruslan Andreev, a political consultant and expert of the Polylog Group, pointed this out in a conversation with Izvestia.

Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso officially withdrew from the regional bloc the day before. ECOWAS President Omar Aliou Touray told journalists in the Nigerian capital of Abuja that despite the split, the bloc hopes to continue cooperating with the countries to solve some of the region's problems, the Associated Press reported.

Commenting, Andreev said the terms of cooperation were literally bondage - a focus on the franc, mandatory holding of reserves in the French Central Bank and exports of raw materials. However, the French contingent has recently left Chad, Senegal and Cote D'Ivoire, and there is still some tension in relations with Algeria, the interlocutor drew attention to. Thus, he noted, most African countries remain developing or poor, they have regional conflicts, problems with hunger, crime, economic development.

"But at the same time, national governments have begun to realize their own political interests and, most importantly, the perpetrators of such a plight of their states - the countries of colonizers and neo-colonizers. Therefore, there is a diversification of international relations," the political scientist explained.

Against this background, he emphasized, it is not surprising to establish contacts with Russia, for example, through the summits "Russia-Africa" (2023) and "Technoprom" (2024). Warm ties have been preserved since the times of the USSR, and Russian President Vladimir Putin always emphasizes building mutually beneficial partnerships as equals, which is different from the European approach, the expert added.

"Russia's interests are also not groundless: cooperation opens access to the strategically important Sahel corridor, a promising transportation route between Asia and America," Andreev concluded.

The process of withdrawal of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso from ECOWAS lasted about a year, the authorities announced their withdrawal from ECOWAS on January 28, 2024. At the same time, in July, the countries united in a confederation, signing a treaty on unification in the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).

Thus, back in January last year, economist Maxim Chirkov told Izvestia that the withdrawal of Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali from ECOWAS indicates a serious loss of influence of Western countries on the continent.

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