The Community of Sahel–Saharan States (CEN-SAD; ; ; ) aims to create a

free trade area A free trade area is the region encompassing a trade bloc whose member countries have signed a free trade agreement (FTA). Such agreements involve cooperation between at least two countries to reduce trade barriers, import quotas and tariffs, and ...

within a region of Africa. There are questions with regard to whether its level of

economic integration Economic integration is the unification of economic policies between different states, through the partial or full abolition of tariff and Non-tariff barriers to trade, non-tariff restrictions on trade. The trade-stimulation effects intended by ...

qualifies it under the

enabling clause In 1979, as part of the Tokyo Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the enabling clause was adopted in order to permit trading preferences targeted at developing and least developed countries which would otherwise violate Artic ...

of the

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is a legal agreement between many countries, whose overall purpose was to promote international trade by reducing or eliminating trade barriers such as tariffs or quotas. According to its p ...

(GATT). The annual ordinary session of the Conference of Heads of State and Government convenes in different Member State capitals on a rotational basis. An extraordinary session may be called upon the request of any Member State.

Establishment

CEN-SAD was established in February 1998 by six countries, but since then its membership has grown to 25. One of its main goals is to achieve economic unity through the implementation of the free movement of people and goods in order to make the area occupied by member states a

. At the international level, CEN-SAD gained observer status at the

UN General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its 79th session, its powers, ...

in 2001 and concluded association and cooperation accords with the

United Nations Economic Commission for Africa The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA or ECA; , CEA) was established in 1958 by the United Nations Economic and Social Council to encourage economic cooperation among its member states (the nations of the Africa, African contin ...

(ECA) and with UN specialized agencies and institutions such as

UNDP The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes on developing local capacity towar ...

WHO The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has 6 regional offices and 15 ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

FAO The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition ...

, and the

Permanent Interstate Committee for drought control in the Sahel The Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (French: ''Comité permanent inter-État de lutte contre la sécheresse au Sahel'', abbreviated as CILSS) is an international organization consisting of countries in the Sahel reg ...

. All CEN-SAD member countries are also participating in other African economic unions, that have the aim to create a common

African Economic Community The African Economic Community (AEC) is an organization of African Union states establishing grounds for mutual economic development among the majority of African states. The stated goals of the organization include the creation of free trade a ...

. The envisioned Free Trade Area of CEN-SAD would be hard to practically implement, because it is overlapping with the envisioned

customs union A customs union is generally defined as a type of trade bloc which is composed of a free trade area with a common external tariff.GATTArticle 24 s. 8 (a) Customs unions are established through trade pacts where the participant countries set u ...

s of the

Economic Community of West African States The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS; also known as CEDEAO in French and Portuguese) is a regional political and economic union of twelve countries of West Africa. Collectively, the present and former members comprise an area ...

(ECOWAS/CEDEAO),

ECCAS The Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS; , CEEAC; , CEEAC; , CEEAC) is an Economic Community of the African Union for promotion of regional economic co-operation in Central Africa. It "aims to achieve collective autonomy, raise ...

and

COMESA The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is a regional economic community in Africa with twenty-one member states stretching from Tunisia to Eswatini. COMESA was formed in December 1994, replacing a Preferential Trade Area whi ...

and other

trade bloc A trade bloc is a type of intergovernmental agreement, often part of a regional intergovernmental organization, where barriers to trade (tariffs and others) are reduced or eliminated among the participating states. Trade blocs can be stand-alo ...

s more advanced in their integration.

Executive Secretaries

2005 summit

At the summit of 1–2 June 2005 in

Ouagadougou Ouagadougou or Wagadugu (, , , ) is the capital city of Burkina Faso, and the administrative, communications, cultural and economic centre of the nation. It is also the List of cities in Burkina Faso#Largest cities, country's largest city, wi ...

(

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

), the heads of state decided to create a in order to allow member countries to develop their agriculture through better control of water resources and seed selection. On the other hand, the summit to decide to study the construction of a railway line connecting

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

, with ramps to

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

and

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

, to facilitate exchanges and to open up the CEN-SAD space. Blaise Compaoré, president of Burkina Faso, succeeded Malian President

Amadou Toumani Touré Amadou Toumani Touré (4 November 19489 November 2020), also popularly known in Mali by his initials ATT (), was a Malian politician. He supervised Mali's first multiparty elections as chairman of the transitional government (1991–1992), and la ...

as current president of CEN-SAD.

2007 summit

The African leaders sought to reconcile differences between neighbours

and

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

over the

Darfur conflict The War in Darfur, also nicknamed the Land Cruiser War, was a major armed conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan that began in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebel groups ...

and boost

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

's embattled

Transitional Federal Government The Transitional Federal Government (TFG) (, , ) was internationally recognized as a provisional government of the Somalia from 14 October 2004 until 20 August 2012. It was established in Nairobi, Kenya, following the Transitional National Govern ...

at a regional summit in

on 3 June 2007.

2008 summit

The 10th Summit of Heads of State of the Community of Sahel–Saharan States (CEN-SAD) met on 28 June 2008 in

Cotonou Cotonou (; ) is the largest city in Benin. Its official population count was 679,012 inhabitants in 2012; however, over two million people live in the larger urban area. The urban area continues to expand, notably toward the west. The city lies ...

on 18 June. Its theme was Rural Development and Food Security in the CEN-SAD area. Beninese President Yayi Boni has been elected current President of CEN-SAD for a one-year term.

2013 summit

In January 2013, the Community of Sahel–Saharan States will meet in

N'Djamena N'Djamena ( ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Chad, largest city of Chad. It is also a Provinces of Chad, special statute region, divided into 10 districts or ''arrondissements'', similar to the city of Paris. Originally calle ...

. A commentator said .

CEN-SAD Games

Beginning in 2009, CEN-SAD member states will take part in planned periodic international sporting and cultural festivals, known as the ''Community of Sahel–Saharan States Games'' (''Jeux de la Communauté des Etats Sahélo-Sahariens''). The first CEN-SAD Games were held in

Niamey Niamey () is the capital and largest city of Niger. As the Niamey Urban Community (, CUN), it is a Regions of Niger, first-level division of Niger, surrounded by the Tillabéri Region, in the western part of the country. Niamey lies on the Nige ...

from 4–14 February 2009. Thirteen nations competed in Under-20 sports (athletics, basketball, judo, football, handball, table tennis and traditional wrestling) and six fields of cultural competition (song, traditional creation and inspiration dancing, painting, sculpture and photography). The second CEN-SAD Games was scheduled to take place in the

ian capitol of

in February 2011.Maiden CEN-SAD Games ends in glory in Niamey.
APA News. 15 February 2009.

List of members

References

External links

Community of Sahel–Saharan States (CEN-SAD)

at the African Union website. {{DEFAULTSORT:Community of Sahel-Saharan States African Union Trade blocs United Nations General Assembly observers Organizations established in 1998 Intergovernmental organizations established by treaty 1998 establishments in Africa