OUAGADOUGOU, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Burkina Faso will work to minimize the negative repercussions of its withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), said Karamoko Jean Marie Traore, Burkina Faso's minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Cooperation and Burkinabe Abroad, Monday on the state broadcaster Radiodiffusion Television du Burkina (RTB).

Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger on Sunday announced in a joint statement their withdrawal from ECOWAS, a regional organization comprising 15 countries.

Explaining the implications of this decision for Burkina Faso, the senior Burkinabe official pointed out that in terms of cooperation with other states, relations with ECOWAS involve the multilateral aspect.

"And beyond that, Burkina Faso continues to have historic bilateral relations with all its neighboring countries. These relations will continue and possibly be strengthened," said Traore. "The withdrawal inevitably has consequences, because we are bound by a treaty with many additional protocols. But it was with full knowledge of the facts that the heads of state took the decision, knowing that there will be repercussions, but the most important thing is to think about alternative mechanisms to deal with these repercussions."

The free movement of people and goods is a major issue, according to the official.

"These are areas in which ECOWAS has worked for a long time, and this sector will certainly be impacted. There are other mechanisms that will make it possible to arrange this and reach agreements with states individually," he added. Enditem

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