Ouagadougou: The President of the Council of Ministers of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), Burkina Faso's Minister of Economy and Finance, Aboubakar Nacanabo, urged member states to uphold budgetary discipline in pursuit of sovereignty and development. This call to action was made during the opening of the second ordinary session of the Union's Council of Ministers.

According to Burkina Information Agency, Mr. Nacanabo highlighted the positive impact of fiscal consolidation efforts by member states, noting an expected decrease in the overall budget deficit relative to GDP from 3.3% in 2025 to 3.2% in 2026, and further down to 2.9% in 2027. He emphasized the necessity of intelligent fiscal consolidation that balances the sustainability of public finances with investment, essential spending, and resource mobilization.

Mr. Nacanabo further stressed the importance of strengthening economic autonomy amidst global geopolitical tensions, energy price volatility, tightening financing conditions, and climate change impacts. He projected that the Union's economic growth, anticipated to reach 6.1% in 2026, should drive economic transformation, job creation, and the development of regional value chains.

He also called on member states to leverage regional integration as a tool for economic sovereignty, advocating collective action as the optimal response to the Union's challenges. The session will review the multilateral surveillance report of June 2026, economic policy guidelines for 2027, and frameworks for public debt policy and management. Additionally, discussions will cover texts related to veterinary medicines and the social protection strategy of WAEMU.