Community of Sahel–Saharan States[1] تجمع دول الساحل والصحراء Communauté des EtatsSahélo-Sahariens Comunidade dos Estados Sahelo-Saarianos | |
|---|---|
 Emblem | |
 Founding members Countries joining later | |
| Headquarters |  N'Djamena |
| Official languages | |
| Type | Trade bloc |
| Membership | 25 member states |
| Leaders | |
• Executive Secretary | Ado ELHADJI ABOU (acting) |
| Establishment | |
• Agreement signed | 4 February 1998 |
| Area | |
• Total | 14,300,000 km2 (5,500,000 sq mi) |
| GDP (PPP) | estimate |
• Total | $1,350.7 billion (2014)[2] |
• Per capita | $1,363.8 (2014)[3] |
TheCommunity of Sahel–Saharan States (CEN-SAD;تجمع دول الساحل والصحراء;Communauté des Etats Sahélo-Sahariens;Comunidade dos Estados Sahelo-Saarianos) aims to create afree trade area within a region of Africa.[1] There are questions with regard to whether its level ofeconomic integration qualifies it under theenabling clause of theGeneral Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (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.[4]
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 afree trade area. At the international level, CEN-SAD gained observer status at theUN General Assembly in 2001 and concluded association and cooperation accords with theUnited Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and with UN specialized agencies and institutions such asUNDP,WHO,UNESCO,FAO, and thePermanent Interstate Committee for drought control in the Sahel.
All CEN-SAD member countries are also participating in other African economic unions, that have the aim to create a commonAfrican Economic Community. The envisioned Free Trade Area of CEN-SAD would be hard to practically implement, because it is overlapping with the envisionedcustoms unions of theEconomic Community of West African States (ECOWAS/CEDEAO),ECCAS andCOMESA and othertrade blocs more advanced in their integration.
| No. | Image | Name | Country | Took office | Left office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mohamed Al-Madani Al-Azhari[5] |  Libya | 1998 | 2013 | |
| 2 | _and_Pres._Iwanaga.jpg) | Ibrahim Sani Abani |  Niger | 2013[6] | 2021 |
| 3 | .jpg) | Brigi Rafini | Niger | 2021[7] | 2023 |
| 4 | _(cropped).jpg) | Ado Elhadji Abou | Niger | 2023[8] | Incumbent |
At the summit of 1–2 June 2005 inOuagadougou (Burkina Faso), the heads of state decided to create ahigh authority for water, agriculture and seeds
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 connectingLibya,Chad,Niger, with ramps toBurkina Faso,Mali andSenegal, to facilitate exchanges and to open up the CEN-SAD space. Blaise Compaoré, president of Burkina Faso, succeeded Malian PresidentAmadou Toumani Touré as current president of CEN-SAD.
The African leaders sought to reconcile differences between neighboursChad andSudan over theDarfur conflict and boostSomalia's embattledTransitional Federal Government at a regional summit inLibya on 3 June 2007.[9]
The 10th Summit of Heads of State of the Community of Sahel–Saharan States (CEN-SAD) met on 28 June 2008 inCotonou 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.[10]
In January 2013, the Community of Sahel–Saharan States will meet inN'Djamena,Chad. A commentator saidMorocco will likely continue its steps to take command of the organization
.[11]
 | Parts of this article (those related to pre-2010 deadlines) need to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(November 2010) |
Beginning in 2009, CEN-SAD member states will take part in planned periodic international sporting and cultural festivals, known as theCommunity of Sahel–Saharan States Games (Jeux de la Communauté des Etats Sahélo-Sahariens).[12] The first CEN-SAD Games were held inNiamey,Niger 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 theChadian capitol ofN'Djamena in February 2011.[13]
| Member state | Joined | Area (km2) | Population | GDP (PPP)($US) | Notes (all states are also members of the United Nations and of theAfrican Union) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (inh.) | (date) | (millions) | (per capita) | ||||
 Benin | 2002 | 114,763 | 10,008,749 | 2013 census[14] | 29,918[15] | 2,552[15] | also member ofECOWAS/CEDEAO andUEMOA |
 Burkina Faso | 1998– | 274,200 | 14,017,262 | 2006 census | 45,339[16] | 792[16] | also member ofECOWAS/CEDEAO andUEMOA |
 Central African Republic | 1999– | 622,984 | 4,666,368 | 2019 est.[17] | 4,262[18] | 823[18] | also member ofECCAS/CEEAC andCEMAC |
| Chad | 1998– | 1,284,000 | 13,670,084 | 2015 est.[19] | 30,000[20] | 2,428[20] | also member ofECCAS/CEEAC andCEMAC |
 Comoros | 2007–[21] | 1,861 | 850,688 | 2018 est. | 2,446[22] | 2,799[22] | also member ofSADC andCOMESA |
 Djibouti | 2000– | 23,200 | also member ofIGAD andCOMESA | ||||
 Egypt | 2001– | 1,010,408 | also member ofCOMESA, candidate toAMU/UMA | ||||
 Eritrea | 1999– | 117,600 | also member ofIGAD andCOMESA | ||||
 Gambia | 2000– | 10,689 | also member ofECOWAS/CEDEAO andWAMZ | ||||
 Ghana | 2005– | 239,567 | also member ofECOWAS/CEDEAO andWAMZ | ||||
 Guinea | 2007–[21] | 245,857 | also member ofECOWAS/CEDEAO andWAMZ | ||||
 Guinea-Bissau | 2004– | 36,125 | also member ofECOWAS/CEDEAO andUEMOA | ||||
 Ivory Coast | 2004– | 322,463 | also member ofECOWAS/CEDEAO andUEMOA | ||||
 Libya | 1998– | 1,759,541 | 6,871,287 | 2019 est.[17] | also member ofAMU/UMA andCOMESA | ||
 Mali | 1998– | 1,240,192 | also member ofECOWAS/CEDEAO andUEMOA | ||||
 Mauritania | 2007–[21] | 1,030,000 | also member ofAMU/UMA | ||||
 Morocco[23] | 2001– | 446,550 or 710,850[23] | also member ofAMU/UMA | ||||
| Niger | 1998– | 1,267,000 | also member ofECOWAS/CEDEAO andUEMOA | ||||
 Nigeria | 2001– | 923,769 | also member ofECOWAS/CEDEAO andWAMZ | ||||
 Senegal | 2000– | 196,712 | also member ofECOWAS/CEDEAO andUEMOA | ||||
 Sierra Leone | 2005– | 71,740 | 7,092,113 | 2015 census[24] | 12,177[25] | 1,608[25] | also member ofECOWAS/CEDEAO andWAMZ |
 Somalia | 2001– | 637,657 | also member ofIGAD andCOMESA | ||||
 Sudan[26] | 1998– | 1,886,068 (2,505,813 before 2011[26]) | 41,592,539 30,894,000 | 2020 est.[27] 2009 est.[28] | 177,678[29] | 4,232[30] | also member ofIGAD andCOMESA |
 Togo | 2002– | 56,785 | also member ofECOWAS/CEDEAO andUEMOA | ||||
 Tunisia | 2001– | 163,610 | 11,722,038 | 2019 census[31] | 159,707[32] | 3,713[32] | also member ofAMU/UMA andCOMESA |
| Total (25 members) | 14,680,111 or 14,944,411[23] | ||||||
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