Gambiaj.com – (Bissau, Guinea-Bissau) – ECOWAS Chairperson and Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio announced on Thursday that negotiations are in progress to reintegrate Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger into the West African regional body.

Speaking to reporters after a brief official visit to Guinea-Bissau, Bio said he had engaged extensively with President Umaro Sissoco Embaló on the matter.

“I spoke a lot with President Umaro Sissoco Embaló about the negotiations that are being conducted for the return of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger to the community,” Bio stated.

The three countries withdrew from ECOWAS earlier this year following political tensions with the bloc over military takeovers. Their absence has raised concerns about regional cohesion, security cooperation, and economic integration.

Bio’s stop in Bissau forms part of a tour of member states aimed at bolstering economic cooperation within ECOWAS. He said his discussions with Embaló also covered regional security, economic integration, and peace consolidation across West Africa.

The Sierra Leonean leader further disclosed that he raised the issue of a disputed territory, claimed by Sierra Leone but occupied by Guinea since 1991.

He noted that ECOWAS is involved in addressing the long-standing border matter.