Niger: a Togolese delegation in Niamey after the announcement of the exit from ECOWAS

2024-01-30T03:28:46.918Z

Highlights: Niger: a Togolese delegation in Niamey after the announcement of the exit from ECOWAS. It has not been indicated whether this discreet meeting is at the initiative of ECOWas or of the state of Togo alone. This “working visit”, which comes the day after the exit, illustrates the cordial relations that the country maintains with Togo. The Togo Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralization, Hodabalo Awaté, was contacted by RFI, he did not wish to comment.

Could this be a first attempt at mediation following the announcement of ECOWAS' exit from Niger? Monday in Niamey, a delegation led by the Togolese Minister of Territorial Administration was…

Niger: a Togolese delegation in Niamey after the announcement of the exit from ECOWAS

Could this be a first attempt at mediation following the announcement of ECOWAS' exit from Niger? Monday in Niamey, a delegation led by the Togolese Minister of Territorial Administration was received by the transitional authorities. It has not been indicated whether this discreet meeting, the content of the discussions of which has not been revealed, is at the initiative of ECOWAS or of the state of Togo alone.

[Illustrative image] General view of a street in Niamey on September 8, 2023. AFP - -

By: RFI Follow

It was Colonel Hodabalo Awaté, Togolese Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralization, who was welcomed by General Salifou Mody, Nigerien Minister of Defense. This lightning trip, which had not been publicly communicated, was first announced on the Facebook page of the Nigerien ministry, displaying the photo of the meeting between the two senior officers.

This “working visit”, which comes the day after the announcement of the exit from ECOWAS by Niger and its Burkinabè and Malian neighbors, illustrates the cordial relations that the country maintains with Togo.

Last Thursday, while an ECOWAS delegation was expected in Niamey, only Togolese diplomacy made the trip, the others justifying their absence by "

technical problems

" with their plane. “

Bad faith

” declared Nigerien Prime Minister Lamine Zeine.

ECOWAS, of which former President Gnassingbé Eyadema, himself a putschist, is one of the founding fathers, remains a historically important organization for Togo. According to researcher Niagalé Bagayoko, the country has assumed the role of mediator between ECOWAS and military regimes since the coup d'état in Mali in 2020. But with the exit of the AES from the West African group, several observers note the failure of these discussions.

The Togolese Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralization, Hodabalo Awaté, was contacted by RFI, he did not wish to comment on the Niamey meeting.

Niger: a Togolese delegation in Niamey after the announcement of the exit from ECOWAS

Niger: a Togolese delegation in Niamey after the announcement of the exit from ECOWAS

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