AES: Four agreements adopted to facilitate employment and social protection within the confederation

Worker mobility, the harmonization of administrative practices, and the continuity of pension rights are at the heart of new developments within the Confederation of Sahel States (AES). Meeting in Ouagadougou, the ministers in charge of the Civil Service, Labor, Employment, and Social Protection from Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger adopted four documents aimed at harmonizing their administrative and social systems.

The conclusions of this meeting, organised within the framework of the roadmap for year II of the Confederation, were presented to the Prime Minister of Burkina Faso, Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouédraogo, during an audience on Friday, November 13, 2026.

Among the adopted texts is a guide to best practices in the civil service. It will serve as a common reference for the three states to harmonize administrative management methods and support the reforms undertaken.

Two other documents directly concern migrant workers. The first aims to standardize hiring procedures in member countries, while the second specifies the conditions of access to employment, administrative formalities and documents required to work in another ESA state.

The fourth text concerns the portability of social benefits. It provides for a mechanism allowing workers to retain their social rights when they work successively in several countries of the Confederation. In practical terms, contributions paid in one country could be taken into account in calculating pension entitlements in another, in accordance with the provisions of the convention.

Upon receiving the delegation, the Burkinabe head of government commended the results of the work and urged the ministers to continue reforms to build an administration more responsive to citizens' needs. He also emphasized the need to change mindsets within the public services.

For Mali's Minister of Labour, Public Service and Social Dialogue, Fassoun Coulibaly, these guidelines should contribute to building a public service that places the citizen at the centre of its action.

These four documents thus constitute instruments for rapprochement between the administrations of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, with the ambition of facilitating the movement of workers and strengthening their professional and social guarantees in the confederation area.

Djamila Kambou