Strained ties will hamper West African cooperation

Significance

Relations among ECOWAS leaders are increasingly strained, after Guinean President Alpha Conde last month closed his country’s border with Guinea-Bissau, Senegal and Sierra Leone.

Impacts

• Intermittent border closures could impede the economic recovery of affected countries.
• This would also negatively impact on the progress of the prospective Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
• Recent trade-related tensions between Ghana and Nigeria are unlikely to lead to a full-blown, protracted diplomatic row.