The President of Burkina Faso, Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, has said that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has shown support for the political transition in the West African country following a coup last January.
This was on Thursday when he met with a ministerial delegation of ECOWAS led by the President of the Council of Ministers, Mrs. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ghana, the Presidency announced in a statement.
The ECOWAS team earlier held a working session with a Burkinabe delegation led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mrs. Olivia Rouamba.
The statement said that the exchanges between the Head of State and his hosts focused on the transition and its implementation.
“Following the change at the head of state on 24 January 2022, the establishment of the Transition and the inauguration of the President, the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government mandated us to meet with the new authorities, even though Burkina Faso is suspended from the organisation’s bodies,” Mrs. Botchwey said at the end of the meeting with Lt. Col. Damiba.
ECOWAS came to listen to the new authorities of the country to understand the roadmap of the transition, she said.
“In this regard, the authority explained to us the reasons why the transition should last three years, including the fight against terrorism and the resolution of the humanitarian crisis,” Mrs. Botchwey said.
“President Damiba has given answers that we will transmit to the ECOWAS Conference of Heads of State and Government,” the statement said.
The other concern of ECOWAS is the fate of ousted president Roch Marc Christian Kaboré.
Mrs. Botchwey said on the authorisation of President Damiba, “we were able to meet and hold discussions with him. He is well and in a good state of mind … What affects Burkina Faso affects us all. And it is not in these difficult times that ECOWAS will abandon Burkina Faso.”
She added that ECOWAS will accompany Burkina in the implementation of the transition.
According to Mrs. Botchwey, ECOWAS will work together with Burkina Faso to find solutions to the security and humanitarian crises, because everything that affects Burkina Faso impacts the entire community space.
