AES states coordinate mining, energy, and humanitarian policies

Ministers from the Confederation of Sahel States (AES)—Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger—met in Ouagadougou to coordinate policies regarding energy, mining, petroleum, and humanitarian action.

In the sector of natural resources, officials aim to harmonize mining and energy regulations to ensure economic sovereignty. The goal is to move away from simple extraction toward local resource transformation to create value, jobs, and industrial capacity within the confederation. This follows recent national reforms in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger to increase state control over gold and uranium sectors.

Parallel discussions focused on humanitarian coordination and gender equality. The AES members aim to transition from emergency-based humanitarian responses to long-term resilience. Key outcomes included the signing of a convention to create a regional platform for women's organizations and the issuance of the Ouagadougou Declarations to improve regional governance and resource mobilization.