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Ph: DR: Mr. Aboubakar Nacanabo Minister in charge of Economy and Finance.
Burkina Faso and the two other AES (Association of Sahel States) countries, Mali and Niger, decided to withdraw from ECOWAS on January 28, 2024. Explaining that this decision would no longer embody its ideals, while many citizens wonder about the consequences of such a decision, the Minister of the Economy, Aboubakar Nacanabo affirmed that the withdrawal of Burkina from the Community Organization “will have little impact at the commercial level”.
“Our exit from ECOWAS in terms of impacts on foreign trade is not significant enough outside Ghana,” suggested the big financier, in the interview given to the AIB. This impact, according to Minister Nacanabo, could be minimized by the presence of Burkina Faso in the West African Economic Monetary Union (UEMOA) which includes eight (8) of the 15 member countries of ECOWAS. The minister also reassured that Burkina remains a member of this economic organization. “as long as it does not deviate from its initial ideals like ECOWAS”.
Minister Nacanabo confided that Burkina Faso’s exports in 2023 to the ECOWAS zone amounted to 14%. However, he clarified that most of these exports were made with UEMOA member countries. In fact, less than 3% of exports were made with non-UEMOA countries such as Ghana, he noted.
As for imports, the situation is almost similar, according to the figures given by the Minister in charge of the Economy. These imports, according to Aboubakar Nacanabo, reached 26% in 2023 with ECOWAS, including less than 7% with countries outside UEMOA. “The majority of imports concern Ghana with the purchase of electricity,” he said.
In addition, the Minister of the Economy indicated that the withdrawal from ECOWAS only marks the end of multilateral cooperation, meaning that Burkina Faso can count on bilateral ones.
