13th Contact Group of the Coalition for the Sahel

2 September 2025

On 11 July 2025, 41 States and organisations of the Coalition, including 12 from Africa, responded to the invitation of the High Representative of the Coalition for the Sahel, H.E. Mr Hamadi Meimou, and took part in Brussels in the 13th Contact Group meeting at the level of senior officials, on the theme: “What prospects for cooperation between the Sahel, the Coalition States and Organisations?”. Read the report.

 

The discussions took place behind closed doors under the non-attribution rule, known as Chatham House. They were chaired by H.E. Mr Leonardo Santos Simão, Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), with moderation support from Mr Mathieu Briens, Deputy Managing Director for Africa at the European External Action Service (EEAS).

 

 

H.E. Mr Mohamed Ali Nafti, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Migration and Tunisians Abroad, Ms Martha Pobee, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, H.E. Mr João Cravinho, European Union Special Representative for the Sahel, and Ms Nana Touré, Director of the Secretariat of the Sahel and West Africa Club of the OECD, subsequently delivered introductory remarks.

 

The plenary was preceded by substantive presentations. Ms Beatriz De León Cobo, Director of the Experts’ Group of the Sahel–Europe Dialogue Forum, spoke on the theme: “Political, security and diplomatic outlook for the next six months”. This was followed by a joint presentation from Ms Binta Sidibé-Gascon, President of the Kisal Observatory and President of the Bureau of the People’s Coalition for the Sahel, together with Mr Daniel Salif Gnienhoun, Burkina Faso focal point of the People’s Coalition for the Sahel, on the theme: “General situation in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger”.