Niamey News

The Entente Council and the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Tuesday, 29 September 2026, in Abidjan-Cocody, aimed at strengthening their cooperation for peace, stability, political dialogue and regional cooperation in West Africa and the Sahel.

Through this agreement, the two institutions intend to better combine their efforts in a context marked by persistent security, political, humanitarian and institutional challenges. The partnership also seeks to preserve and strengthen consultation spaces between states and regional organizations.

The cooperation focuses on three main priorities. The first is preventive diplomacy, mediation and political dialogue, including the possibility of strategic consultations, good offices initiatives and facilitation actions.

The second concerns peace and resilience in border areas. Both institutions plan to work on conflict prevention, strengthening social cohesion and the participation of young people and women in peace initiatives.

The third axis is dedicated to institutional strengthening and strategic analysis, through information sharing, joint studies, advisory assistance and capacity development for the Entente Council.

The Memorandum also enshrines the role of the Entente Council as a platform for dialogue, consultation and diplomatic facilitation. The organization could thus contribute, when circumstances require, to bringing states and different regional configurations closer together.

To ensure the implementation of this agreement, the two institutions will develop joint annual work plans, designate focal points and organize regular follow-up consultations. Joint evaluation, dialogue or diplomatic facilitation missions may also be conducted.

The Memorandum of Understanding is concluded for an initial period of three years.

Present at the signing ceremony, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for West Africa and the Sahel, Leonardo Simão, stressed the importance of this cooperation for promoting peace and stability in the region.

“There are always threats to peace. We cannot take peace as something definitive. We must always make efforts to maintain peace where it already exists, but also to recover peace where it does not exist,” he declared.

Leonardo Simão also highlighted the experience of the Entente Council, created in 1959, before the Organization of African Unity and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). According to him, this experience of cooperation between states constitutes a foundation on which new initiatives for peace in the region can be built.

For Idi Ali, Deputy Executive Secretary in charge of the interim of the Executive Secretary of the Entente Council, this agreement reflects recognition of the role the organization can play in the current security context.

“The Entente Council today constitutes a privileged framework for consolidating peace in the sub-region,” he said, noting in particular the presence within this organization of Sahelian and coastal countries.

He welcomed the signing of this Memorandum with the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel, estimating that it will consolidate relations between the two institutions and strengthen their contribution to peace in the sub-region.