NIGER INTRODUCES AES E-PASSPORTS, BIOMETRIC ID CARDS

Sun 28 December 2025:

The Nigerien government, meeting in a Council of Ministers on Friday, adopted a draft decree regulating ordinary and service electronic passports as well as the biometric national identity cards of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).

According to the council’s statement, the measure aims to facilitate the free movement of persons through secure travel documents, in line with the government’s efforts to promote sub-regional integration.

The decree also outlines the conditions for issuing, renewing, and withdrawing e-passports.

Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali established the AES on Sept. 16, 2023, with the primary objective of pooling efforts to address security challenges and jointly promote socioeconomic development. It was formally transformed into a confederation in July 2024.

Starting from Jan. 29, 2025, AES passports have been officially circulated as part of the implementation of its roadmap.

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“Large-scale” joint operations against armed groups in the coming days

Meanwhile Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali have launched joint battalion aiming to bolster sovereignty after group booted out France, US.

Burkina Faso’s interim leader, who is part of a regional alliance of military-led countries that includes Mali and Niger, has announced “large-scale” joint operations against armed groups in the coming days.

Captain Ibrahim Traore’s comments came as the three countries, allied under the banner of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), held a joint summit that concluded on Tuesday, days after the launch of a joint military battalion aimed at fighting groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS).

Newly installed as AES chief, Traore provided no further details on the actions planned by the three countries, which have all experienced coups in recent years and have withdrawn from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) bloc to form the AES in 2024. The three pledged at this week’s summit to deepen their security and economic ties.

The military leaders of the three nations have kicked out longtime security partners France and the United States, turning instead to Russia as an ally in their bid to advance regional sovereignty, with this week’s launch of the 5,000-strong AES Unified Force (FU-AES) seen as a key milestone for the bloc.

At the summit, the three states launched a joint broadcaster called AES Television, with Malian President General Assimi Goita describing it as a strategic tool “to break disinformation campaigns and hostile narratives targeting our states”.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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