Ouagadougou: Sahel countries' ministers of finance have threatened on Saturday to leave the Council of Ministers of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). This came after Cote d'Ivoire rejected handing over the rotating presidency to Burkina Faso during the annual meeting, Burkina Faso's media reported. According to Kuwait News Agency, the decision of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso's ministers to withdraw from the union came after talks failed to reach a deal on this regard. Cote d'Ivoire obtained the presidency for two years, and Burkina Faso was supposed to lead the union for the next two years during the meeting held on Friday, yesterday, media noted. In light of this disagreement, the summit of the union's heads, held its ordinary session last month, has the final say regarding this matter. According to WAEMU statutes, each finance minister of the 8-member union takes periodically the presidency.
