The Economic Community of West African States hopes to use this time to convince the three nations to stay in the bloc.

Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger will have a six-month grace period following their exit from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), scheduled for January 29, a year after the countries announced their intentions to leave.

The decision, reached at a summit of West Africa’s main political and economic group this weekend in the Nigerian capital Abuja, was seen as a last-ditch effort to dissuade the three countries from leaving, a move the bloc has thus far been unable to halt. Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger reaffirmed that their decision to leave is “irreversible”.

The three countries, located in the insurgency-torn central Sahel region, have formed their own group called the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). The new effective departure date has now been extended to July 29, although January 29 will still be the official withdrawal date. The bloc hopes to use the six-month transition period to convince the countries to return.

On Saturday, the three nations stated that their territories would remain visa-free for all ECOWAS citizens post-exit. This move has alleviated concerns that their departure could threaten free trade and movement for the 400 million people living across the region.

Among those who attended the summit was Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who has served as a mediator between the 15-member bloc and the three countries set to leave.

The Senegalese president, who was appointed to lead negotiations in July, said he was “making progress” in talks with the three countries and added that there was no reason for them not to maintain relations amid ongoing security concerns in the region, where al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS) have gained ground.

The withdrawal of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger from ECOWAS would mark the culmination of a tumultuous period for the Sahel, where a series of coups since 2020 has brought military authorities to power. The new governments have fostered closer ties with Russia at the expense of their former colonial ruler, France, and other one-time allies from the region and beyond.