Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye embarked on a pivotal two-day working visit to Benin on July 15, signaling a shared commitment with Beninese President Patrice Talon to reinvigorate the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU).
The two leaders convened in Cotonou to confront the mounting institutional and geopolitical challenges threatening the eight-member bloc, which includes Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo.
In a joint statement following their meeting at the Marina Palace, President Diomaye Faye acknowledged the difficulties facing WAEMU.
“We discussed the WAEMU, which is also going through a somewhat difficult situation that we must quickly resolve,” he said, emphasizing the urgency to restore trust and cohesion.
WAEMU’s stability has been shaken by a series of military coups across the Sahel region. Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso—now aligned within the Alliance of Sahel States (ESA)—have distanced themselves from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and are threatening to sever ties with WAEMU.
These tensions came to a head during the WAEMU Council of Ministers meeting in Lomé in early July, where the Sahelian countries exited prematurely in protest over the refusal to grant Burkina Faso the rotating presidency. The Burkina Faso News Agency condemned the decision as evidence of marginalization within the Union.
Diplomatic relations have since deteriorated, with the Sahelian states accusing Benin and Côte d’Ivoire—seen as aligned with ECOWAS—of conspiratorial behavior, accusations the latter vehemently deny. The ESA’s plan to introduce its own currency further challenges the CFA franc-based monetary order that underpins WAEMU.
Appointed ECOWAS mediator to the Sahel in July 2024, President Diomaye Faye is now extending his mediation efforts within WAEMU. His visit to Cotonou underscores a strategy to galvanize the Union with the support of key partners like President Talon. “President Talon and I have agreed in the coming days to take steps to work towards revitalizing the organization, to give it new life, of course with the support of other member counterparts of the Union,” Diomaye Faye confirmed.
The Senegalese president’s arrival was met with a warm welcome by Beninese officials and the Senegalese diaspora. His engagement with President Talon represents a critical move to preserve regional unity amid the fracturing of West Africa’s political and economic blocs.
As WAEMU grapples with profound divisions, this renewed push may herald reforms in governance and decision-making necessary to secure monetary stability and reconcile divergent visions of economic integration across West Africa.
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