A former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Charles Owiredu, has described the upcoming ECOWAS Summit in Accra as a critical opportunity to re-engage the military-led governments of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, despite their withdrawal from the regional bloc.

Speaking on JoyNews' The Pulse on Thursday, April 17, Mr Owiredu emphasised the need for dialogue and reintegration, stressing that the door must remain open for the Sahel nations to return to the bloc.

“This is an opportunity to re-engage. An opportunity to bring the three countries back to the table and hopefully restore multi-party democracy in their nations,” he said.

His remarks follow a renewed invitation from President John Dramani Mahama to the leaders of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) — formed by Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger following their formal exit from ECOWAS earlier this year.

Read also: Mahama invites Sahel Military leaders to ECOWAS summit – Ablakwa

Their departure sent ripples through the region, sparking concerns over trade barriers, freedom of movement, and broader regional security.

Mr Owiredu highlighted the key achievements of ECOWAS that could serve as incentives for the return of the breakaway states. He pointed to the bloc’s efforts to promote the free movement of goods and people, and the elimination of customs duties under the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS).

“Right now, we enjoy visa-free travel across member states and benefit from duty-free trade. These are tangible gains that have improved economic integration,” he noted.

He also praised ECOWAS’s historic role in peacekeeping and conflict resolution, referencing past interventions by the ECOWAS Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea as pivotal to regional stability.

Despite its accomplishments, he acknowledged that ECOWAS faces internal challenges, including stalled efforts to implement a single currency and inconsistent economic convergence across member states.

“When Ghana’s Finance Minister presented the last budget to Parliament, it showed Ghana had met only two out of the four convergence criteria,” he said, citing the hurdles to achieving macroeconomic alignment within the bloc.