«Morocco has a clear opportunity in the Sahel, but only if it avoids repeating the past missteps of France and Algeria», emphasizes Ali Ansari, president of the Timbuktu Center for Studies.
On January 28, 2024, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger announced their withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The three countries, along with Chad, had joined Morocco's Atlantic Access Initiative on December 23, 2023.
Morocco continues to emphasize Mauritania's essential role in the royal initiative aimed at giving Sahel countries access to the Atlantic Ocean, as Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita publicly reiterated Monday in Rabat during a meeting with his Mauritanian counterpart.