With just a few weeks to go before the ECOWAS summit, Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has nominated General Birame Diop to stand for the presidency of the regional organisation’s Commission. With extensive experience in the Senegalese armed forces and United Nations peacekeeping operations, the officer embodies the choice of a security-focused profile at a time when West Africa is facing multiple challenges. Through this candidacy, Senegal is championing an ECOWAS based on collective security, development and dialogue with all states in the region, including those of the Confederation of Sahel States.
Former Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, former Special Chief of Staff to the President of the Republic, and former Minister of the Armed Forces, General Birame Diop represents, for Senegal, a profile with solid experience in security issues and regional governance. His career at the United Nations, where he served as Military Adviser to the Secretary-General for peacekeeping operations, allowed him to develop a deep understanding of international mechanisms for crisis prevention and management. For Senegal, ECOWAS now requires leadership capable of balancing security requirements, regional cooperation, and political dialogue.
The world operates according to a principle of interdependence where no country develops in isolation. Crises occurring in one region produce effects far beyond their borders. Senegal works with several international partners who share a common interest in the stability of the country and thesub-region. Their experience and the capacities they provide help strengthen our preparedness and our ability to respond to security challenges.
Birame Diop, Candidate for the Presidency of the ECOWAS Commission
The security doctrine promoted by President Bassirou Diomaye Faye is based on cooperation between states, threat anticipation, and the strengthening of national capacities. In this context, Senegal pays particular attention to securing its border areas and sharing intelligence with neighbouring countries. An approach based on mutual trust, which General Birame Diop considers essential for addressing the security challenges of the Sahel.
The border is a shared asset. The border with Mali, we share it with Mali. We cannot manage it alone. We must work with Mali, and this is also our work. Despite the difficulties faced by the Malians, they are willing to work with us so that this shared asset can be managed in a very cooperative manner.
Birame Diop, Candidate for the Presidency of the ECOWAS Commission
This approach reflects the desire to place populations at the centre of prevention policies, focusing on intelligence, proximity, and trust between security forces and local communities. Birame Diop’s candidacy comes at a time of reconfiguration in West Africa, as relations between ECOWAS and the Confederation of Sahel States are among the main regional issues. On this matter, Senegal prioritises dialogue and operational cooperation, considering that cross-border challenges require permanent coordination between states.
We need mechanisms capable of preventing and resolving crises and conflicts. To date, peacekeeping operations remain one of the most effective instruments available to the international community. They are not perfect and probably never will be, but without them, it would be much harder to preserve peace in many regions of the world. Peacekeeping operations have proven useful in several contexts, notably in Timor-Leste, Côte d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, and Liberia, where they contributed to restoring stability and rebuilding states. Today, some of these countries themselves participate in international peacekeeping efforts. The challenge now is to continue strengthening and adapting these mechanisms to new security realities.
Birame Diop, Candidate for the Presidency of the ECOWAS Commission
At a time when ECOWAS, now composed of 12 member states and representing a market of nearly 400 million people, must redefine its role in a changing regional environment, Senegal advocates for an organisation more focused on crisis prevention, security cooperation, and political dialogue. General Birame Diop’s candidacy for the presidency of the ECOWAS Commission aligns with this vision of closer relations between ECOWAS and AES countries, in the face of cross-border threats that disregard administrative boundaries. For Senegal, stability in West Africa depends less on power struggles and more on states’ ability to develop joint responses to security, economic, and human challenges. More than a candidacy, Senegal is thus proposing a method based on consultation, shared responsibility, and regional integration.
