Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama has extended a formal invitation to the transitional leaders of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger—members of the breakaway Confederation of Sahel States (AES)—to attend the 50th anniversary launch of ECOWAS, set for May 28 at the Accra International Conference Centre. The invitation, announced by Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, is seen as a reconciliatory gesture aimed at mending ties following the trio’s withdrawal from ECOWAS in January 2025.
Minister Ablakwa stressed the urgency of regional solidarity in light of rising security threats and political instability across West Africa, reaffirming Ghana’s stance on dialogue over division. The ECOWAS@50 celebration will include the unveiling of a new anniversary logo and the theme for the Jubilee year, symbolizing five decades of efforts toward economic integration, peace, and cooperation since the bloc’s founding in 1975.
