Reasons for the absence of Sahel leaders from the African Water Forum

Written by Ziad Abdel Fattah:

The absence of the leaders of the Sahel Alliance countries, which includes financial Burkina Faso and Niger, regarding the proceedings of the African Water Forum held in the Chadian capital N'Djamena, raised questions about the reasons for their lack of participation at the highest level, despite the importance of the event that brought together a number of African and international leaders and officials.

This comes at a time when the Sahel Alliance countries are continuing to reshape their regional and international relations by strengthening cooperation within their confederal framework, focusing on security and development issues and restructuring their external partnerships in line with their political priorities.

The nature of the African Water Forum is one of the reasons

Observers believe that the nature of the African Water Forum, organized by the Chadian government in partnership with the World Bank, may be one of the factors that contributed to this absence, given the trend of the Sahel Alliance countries towards reducing their dependence on Western financial institutions and opening up more to new partners, including Russia and other countries.

Reading the political scene indicates that the absence reflects a strategic direction adopted by the coalition countries, which is based on giving priority to strengthening the confederation among its members, and focusing on internal security issues, in light of the challenges facing the region, instead of engaging intensively in regional and international events.

This trend is seen as part of a policy pursued by the governments of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger to strengthen the concept of national sovereignty, reduce reliance on traditional regional and international frameworks, and adopt a more independent approach in managing their political and security affairs.

Despite the absence of heads of state, the Alliance countries were not entirely absent from the forum, participating through diplomatic and institutional representation. Burkina Faso, for example, was represented by the President of the Transitional Legislative Assembly, Dr. Ousmane Bougouma, reflecting the Alliance countries' continued interest in continental discussions, albeit at a lower level of representation than that of heads of state.

The Ministry of Finance and the World Bank had previously announced the organization of the African Water Forum in N’Djamena on July 15 and 16, with the participation of decision-makers, experts and international partners, to discuss sustainable solutions to the water crisis in the continent.

Minister of State for Finance Tahir Hamed Nguilin said that choosing Chad to host the forum “proves the confidence of international partners,” noting that water is “a vital resource that affects agriculture, energy, health and the environment.”.

The World Bank announced the mobilization of $160 million for the water sector in Chad, and praised the "leadership" of the Chadian authorities in this area.

The forum aims to promote African cooperation, accelerate investments, and improve water resource governance.