Senegal seeks regional backing for General Birame Diop’s ECOWAS Commission bid

Senegal’s foreign minister, Cheikh Niang, conducted diplomatic outreach in early June 2026 to secure support for the country’s candidate for the presidency of the ECOWAS Commission. On 8 June 2026 in Lomé, he met ECOWAS President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, delivering President Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s message and presenting the chosen nominee. Niang said, “I am here as emissary of the President of the Republic of Senegal, bearing a personal message to his brother and friend.”

The same week, Niang travelled to Abidjan, where he was received by Ivory Coast Vice‑President Tiemoko Meyliet Koné. He asked the Ivorian leadership to back General Birame Diop, an air‑force officer proposed by President Faye to head the ECOWAS Commission beginning July 2026. Both meetings highlighted Senegal’s effort to rally votes and underscored the close political and economic ties between Dakar, Lomé and Abidjan within the West African integration framework.