Tensions in the UEMOA: Ivory Coast opposes a Burkinabe presidency
A new dispute has arisen between Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso. This time, the disagreement is taking place within the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). According to Africa Intelligence, Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara is obstructing Burkina Faso’s candidacy for the rotating presidency of the organization’s Council of Ministers.
Officially, neither of the two governments has confirmed this dispute, and the motives of Abidjan remain very unclear for the moment. However, the economic dominance of Ivory Coast within the WAEMU gives it a decisive influence in this process. We should remember that, according to Article 11 of the WAEMU treaty, the presidency of the Council is held for two years by a Finance Minister designated among the member states. The position has been held since 2022 by the Ivorian Minister Ouloto Kaba Nialé.
This crisis is occurring in a context of already strained relations between the two countries since the rise to power of Captain Ibrahim Traoré. Burkina Faso authorities also regularly accuse their Ivorian neighbors of interference and destabilization.
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