Leaders of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso gathered for the second heads-of-state summit of the Alliance of Sahel States, one year after the confederation’s formation.

The meeting reflects a shift from crisis coordination to durable state-building, with economic and media institutions placed at the core of the integration agenda.

Confederal Investment Bank Activated

At the summit’s opening, member states confirmed the launch of the Confederal Investment and Development Bank (BCID-AES), capitalized at 500 billion CFA francs (about $895 million). The bank is mandated to finance infrastructure, agriculture, energy, and productive sectors across the three countries.

Finance officials said the institution was established following months of joint technical work and will begin operations without external loans or credit lines. The funding model prioritizes internal capitalization and project-based returns, signaling a break from reliance on conditional external financing.

AES Television Ready to Go Live

Leaders also announced that AES Television, the bloc’s first confederal broadcaster, is fully operational and awaiting official inauguration in the coming days. The channel forms part of a broader communications framework that includes digital platforms and regional radio.

Authorities frame the outlet as a tool to reclaim control over the Sahel’s narrative space, long shaped by foreign media. Officials stressed that the project was completed without foreign funding, loans, or donor support, reinforcing its symbolic role alongside the new bank.

From Security Pact to Institutions

The AES was created in September 2023 as a mutual defense alliance and later adopted a confederal structure after withdrawing from ECOWAS. The current summit marks a consolidation phase, prioritizing institutions designed to endure beyond security coordination.

By pairing a development bank with a confederal media platform, the bloc is signaling that sovereignty now rests on economic capacity and narrative control, not only military cooperation.