The Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has approved the inclusion of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger as non-ECOWAS members of the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA).
Their admission is contingent upon a firm political commitment to fully meet GIABA obligations, including strengthening their Anti-Money Laundering, Countering the Financing of Terrorism, and Countering Proliferation Financing (AML/CFT/CPF) frameworks, and complying with all related requirements under the GIABA Statute.
According to a GIABA statement, the decision was made at the conclusion of the 68th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority on December 14, 2025, in Abuja, Nigeria, chaired by Julius Maada Bio, President of Sierra Leone and current Authority Chair.
Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger officially withdrew from ECOWAS on January 29, 2025, after forming the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
Before this approval, the GIABA Ministerial Committee had recommended the three Sahelian countries’ admission as non-ECOWAS members during its second Extraordinary Session on July 19, 2025, in Accra.
The GIABA Establishment Statute permits non-ECOWAS countries to join, provided they meet the necessary eligibility requirements.
With this latest decision, GIABA now includes five non-ECOWAS member states, alongside Sao Tome and Principe and the Union of Comoros.
