The West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) has lifted its suspension of Mali.
Mali can now rejoin the bodies and institutions of UEMOA, the monetary bloc said at the end of an ordinary summit held in Guinea-Bissau on Sunday.
"Concerning Mali, the conference decided to lift its suspension from the organs and institutions of UEMOA taken on Jan. 9, 2022," said the final communique of the union's heads of state and government.
The Malian junta currently in power staged a coup on Aug, 18, 2020 and a second one in May 2021, triggering sanctions against the country by various sub-regional institutions.
The West African leaders gave no further details on the lifting of Mali’s suspension in the communique.
However, they did welcome "the resilience of the zone's economies, whose economic growth rate is forecast at 7% in 2023 after 5% in 2022, despite the shocks experienced internationally and within the community."
They also noted with satisfaction the deceleration in the inflation rate in 2023, which would stand at 4.4%, or a drop of 3.0 percentage points compared with last year.
Democracy return
UEMOA and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) had in January 2022 imposed a range of economic and diplomatic measures against the Mali after its military government unveiled a plan to rule for five years.
ECOWAS lifted sanctions in July 2022, accepting a planned March 2024 return to civilian rule.
The leader of Mali's junta, Assimi Goita, seized power in August 2020, then installed an interim government led by civilians.
But in May 2021, he deposed those civilian leaders in a second coup. He was later sworn in as interim president.
Mali last month held a referendum on constitutional changes, marking a key step in the military's plans to restore civilian rule.
The ECOWAS summit over the weekend was also marked by the election of Nigerian President Bola Tinubu as chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
He replaces his Guinea-Bissau counterpart Umaro Sissoco Embalo. Tinubu expressed his and Nigeria's dedication "to peace and progress."
