Ouagadougou – The Integrated Development Authority of the Liptako-Gourma States (ALG), with the support of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and financial support of the US State Department facilitated a meeting of the Governors of the three border regions of Burkina Faso and Niger on 4 and 5 May 2023.

The Governors of the Sahel and East regions of Burkina Faso and their counterpart from the Tillabéri Region of Niger, together with their collaborators, met in the Burkinabe capital to exchange and discuss issues of common interest.

The overall objective of this meeting was to provide a framework for exchanges and sharing of experiences between the border authorities of Burkina Faso and the Republic of Niger on good practices in dealing with security crises and community conflicts in the border area between these two countries.

Participants were specifically invited to provide an overview of the current situation with respect to security crises and community conflicts in the border area between Burkina Faso and Niger, share experiences and best practices, enhance actors’ knowledge on cross-border cooperation, and strengthen border community engagement, among others.

For two days, participants effectively reviewed the socio-economic and security situation in the cross-border area between the two countries and discussed actions to be taken to meet challenges relating to development, peace, and security.

Participants had straightforward discussions, full of ideas and in a friendly and fraternal atmosphere, which enabled them to deal with issues relating to cross-border and security cooperation, the fight against insecurity and terrorism, free movement of people and goods and cross-border transhumance.

This led to the adoption of a roadmap for the implementation of priority actions defined together, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, recommendations for a better cross-border management of security and community issues in the border area.

This initiative from IOM and its partners is in line with the African Union Border Governance Strategy, namely its Pillar 2 on “Conflict Prevention and Resolution, Border Security and Transnational Threats”, and its Pillar 4 on “Cooperative Border Management”.

With a view to ensuring the continuity of consultation and dialogue within this framework created by the ALG and supported by IOM, the two delegations agreed to hold a next meeting in August 2023 in Niamey, Niger to take stock of actions considered during the meeting in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

For more information on the meeting or project, please contact Idelki Familia, Immigration and Border Governance Unit Coordinator at IOM Burkina Faso at ifamilia@iom.int.