Sierra Leone’s President Bio to be the following ECOWAS chairman amid regional turmoil
ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio was chosen on Sunday to be the following chairman of the West African financial bloc, ECOWAS.
The Financial Neighborhood of West African States, referred to as ECOWAS, was based in 1975, and is dealing with challenges on account of rising violence, member departures and financial disturbances.
In an announcement following Sunday’s announcement, Bio promised to prioritize democracy, safety cooperation, financial integration and institutional credibility.
“We’re nonetheless confronting insecurity within the Sahel and coastal states, terrorism, political instability, illicit arms circulation and transnational organized crimes proceed to check the resilience of our nations and the effectiveness of our establishments,” he stated.
Bio is at the moment serving his second time period as president after a contested election two years in the past within the coastal West African nation.
He was president when ECOWAS imposed extreme sanctions on Niger following a coup two years in the past. Niger cited the sanctions as one of many causes for leaving the bloc. Sierra Leone was one of many international locations that supported a army intervention within the nation in 2023.
At dwelling, Bio is dealing with an ongoing artificial drug disaster and a stagnating financial system.
Bio’s new place comes because the area faces its most extreme disaster in many years with jihadist forces controlling huge swaths of the Sahel, a semi-arid area south of the Sahara.
Prior to now few years, ECOWAS has struggled with the departure of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger which have all confronted army coups. All three juntas left the bloc, and created their very own safety partnership, the Alliance of Sahel States. They’ve lower ties with the normal Western allies, ousting French and American army forces, and as an alternative sought new safety ties with Russia.
The three international locations have been the toughest hit by jihadist violence lately.