Senegal President Bassirou Diomaye Faye elected ECOWAS chairman as Birame Diop takes commission helm

At the 69th ordinary session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government in Freetown, Sierra Leone, on 19 July 2026, Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye was elected chairman of the regional bloc for a one‑year term, succeeding Sierra Leone’s Julius Maada Bio. In the same summit, former Senegalese defence minister General Birame Diop was chosen as President of the ECOWAS Commission for the 2026‑2030 mandate, giving Senegal the unprecedented dual leadership of the organisation.

Faye outlined a roadmap centred on regional security – accelerating the operationalisation of the ECOWAS regional force against terrorism – and on deeper economic integration, including mutual pooling of resources, greater financial autonomy and targets such as 40 % intra‑regional trade by 2035 and a single digital market by 2030. He called for reconciliation with the Sahel states that withdrew from ECOWAS and pledged collective action on political, economic and security challenges.

Leaders from Liberia, Ghana and Nigeria used the summit to urge concrete reforms and tangible benefits for citizens, while ECOWAS members signed an inter‑governmental agreement on the Nigeria‑Morocco Atlantic Gas Pipeline, a 6,800‑km project intended to supply gas to Europe and boost regional energy markets. The summit therefore combined leadership changes, policy priorities and major infrastructure commitments for West Africa.