THE West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) announced on Sunday its decision to lift the suspension of
Mali, allowing the country to rejoin the bodies and institutions of the monetary bloc. The decision was made during an ordinary summit held in Guinea-Bissau.
In the final communique issued by the union’s heads of state and government, it said, ‘Concerning Mali, the conference decided to lift its suspension from the organs and institutions of UEMOA taken on Jan. 9, 2022.’ However, no further details regarding the lifting of the suspension were provided in the statement.
Mali had faced sanctions from various sub-regional institutions after the country experienced two military coups, one in August 2020 and anot
her in May 2021, resulting in the suspension.
The West African leaders, in the same communique, expressed satisfaction with the resilience of the economies within the zone, despite international and regional shocks. They highlighted the forecasted economic growth rate of 7 percent for 2023, following a growth rate of 5 percent in 2022. Additionally, they noted a significant decrease in the inflation rate, which is expected to be 4.4 percent in 2023, a drop of 3.0 percentage points compared to the previous year.
The summit also witnessed the election of Nigerian President Bola Tinubu as the chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), replacing his counterpart Umaro Sissoco Embalo of Guinea-Bissau. President Tinubu expressed his dedication, along with Nigeria’s, to peace and progress in the region.
