Trade ESA: Ministers for industry and trade meet in Ouagadougou

Prime Minister Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouédraogo opened the second meeting of industry and trade ministers and private sector representatives from the Confederation of Sahel States (AES) in Ouagadougou on Thursday, April 10th, 2025. The meeting provides an important forum for strengthening economic and trade relations within the confederation.

To build an integrated diplomatic and economic space that can serve as a foundation for inclusive sustainable development, in order to reduce poverty and ensure the well-being of populations within the ESA: this is the commitment made by the three Heads of State when they signed the Treaty establishing the Confederation of Sahel States.

The first meeting of Industry and Trade Ministers with the ESA private sector, held in Bamako on October 19, 2024 to operationalize this commitment, laid the foundations for reflection and formulated recommendations aimed at deepening economic and trade integration and creating a federating framework for the ESA private sector.

The Bamako recommendations focused, among other things, on harmonizing trade policies and strategies, through the introduction of a unified investment code and documents relating to intra-ESA trade and transit. And the development of a detailed timetable, with priorities for productive investment and support for the integration process, the implementation of a plan for the free movement of people and goods, and the development of a governance plan for the AES Sovereign Wealth Fund, a strategic tool for financing infrastructure and investment projects that will boost economies within the confederation.

source: Burkina24