Community of Sahel–Saharan States facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Community of Sahel–Saharan States تجمع دول الساحل والصحراء Communauté des Etats Sahélo-Sahariens Comunidade dos Estados Sahelo-Saarianos
Emblem
Founding members      Countries joining later
Headquarters	N'Djamena
Official languages	Arabic English French Portuguese
Type	Trade bloc
Membership	25 member states
Leaders
• Executive Secretary	Ado ELHADJI ABOU (acting)
Establishment
• Agreement signed	4 February 1998
Area
• Total	14,300,000 km2 (5,500,000 sq mi)
GDP (PPP)	estimate
• Total	$1,350.7 billion (2014)
• Per capita	$1,363.8 (2014)
Driving side	right (except Kenya)
Website https://archive.uneca.org/oria/pages/cen-sad-community-sahel-saharan-states

The Community of Sahel–Saharan States (CEN-SAD) is a group of countries in Africa. Its main goal is to create a free trade area. This means people and goods can move easily between member countries. It helps countries work together to improve their economies.

CEN-SAD holds a big meeting every year. Leaders from all member countries gather in different cities. Sometimes, they have extra meetings if something important comes up.

How CEN-SAD Started

CEN-SAD began in February 1998 with six countries. Since then, it has grown a lot. Now, 25 countries are members. A big aim is to make it easier for people and products to move freely. This helps boost trade and economic growth.

CEN-SAD also works with other big organizations. For example, it gained a special "observer status" at the UN General Assembly in 2001. This means it can attend UN meetings and share its ideas. It also partners with UN groups like UNDP (which helps with development), WHO (for health), UNESCO (for education and culture), and FAO (for food and agriculture).

Many CEN-SAD countries are also part of other African economic groups. These groups all want to create a common African Economic Community. Sometimes, this can make it tricky to set up one big free trade area for CEN-SAD. This is because other groups might have their own trade rules.

Leaders of CEN-SAD

The Executive Secretary is like the main manager of CEN-SAD. Here are the people who have held this important role:

No.	Image	Name	Country	Started role	Left role
1		Mohamed Al-Madani Al-Azhari	Libya	1998	2013
2		Ibrahim Sani Abani	Niger	2013	2021
3		Brigi Rafini	Niger	2021	2023
4		Ado Elhadji Abou	Niger	2023	Current

Important Meetings

CEN-SAD leaders meet regularly to discuss important issues. These meetings are called summits.

2005 Summit

In June 2005, a summit was held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The leaders decided to create a plan to help countries grow more food. This plan focused on managing water better and choosing good seeds. They also decided to study building a railway line. This railway would connect Libya, Chad, and Niger. It would also have branches to Burkina Faso, Mali, and Senegal. This project aimed to make trade easier and connect the CEN-SAD region.

2007 Summit

In June 2007, African leaders met in Libya. They worked to help solve problems between Chad and Sudan. They also aimed to support Somalia's government.

2008 Summit

The 10th CEN-SAD Summit took place in June 2008 in Cotonou. The main topic was how to improve farming and ensure enough food for everyone in the CEN-SAD area.

2013 Summit

In January 2013, the Community of Sahel–Saharan States met in N'Djamena, Chad.

CEN-SAD Games

Since 2009, CEN-SAD countries have taken part in special sports and cultural events. These are called the Community of Sahel–Saharan States Games. The first games were held in Niamey, Niger, from February 4 to 14, 2009. Thirteen nations competed in sports like athletics, basketball, and football. They also had cultural competitions such as singing and dancing. The second CEN-SAD Games were planned for February 2011 in N'Djamena, Chad.

Member Countries

Here is a list of the countries that are part of CEN-SAD:

Member state	Joined	Area (km2)	Population		GDP (PPP) ($US)		Notes (all states are also members of the United Nations and of the African Union)
			(people)	(date)	(millions)	(per person)
Benin	2002	114,763	10,008,749	2013 census	29,918	2,552	also member of ECOWAS/CEDEAO and UEMOA
Burkina Faso	1998–	274,200	14,017,262	2006 census	45,339	792	also member of ECOWAS/CEDEAO and UEMOA
Central African Republic	1999–	622,984	4,666,368	2019 est.	4,262	823	also member of ECCAS/CEEAC and CEMAC
Chad	1998–	1,284,000	13,670,084	2015 est.	30,000	2,428	also member of ECCAS/CEEAC and CEMAC
Comoros	2007–	1,861	850,688	2018 est.	2,446	2,799	also member of SADC and COMESA
Djibouti	2000–	23,200					also member of IGAD and COMESA
Egypt	2001–	1,010,408					also member of COMESA, candidate to AMU/UMA
Eritrea	1999–	117,600					also member of IGAD and COMESA
Gambia	2000–	10,689					also member of ECOWAS/CEDEAO and WAMZ
Ghana	2005–	239,567					also member of ECOWAS/CEDEAO and WAMZ
Guinea	2007–	245,857					also member of ECOWAS/CEDEAO and WAMZ
Guinea-Bissau	2004–	36,125					also member of ECOWAS/CEDEAO and UEMOA
Côte d'Ivoire	2004–	322,463					also member of ECOWAS/CEDEAO and UEMOA
Libya	1998–	1,759,541	6,871,287	2019 est.			also member of AMU/UMA and COMESA
Mali	1998–	1,240,192					also member of ECOWAS/CEDEAO and UEMOA
Mauritania	2007–	1,030,000					also member of AMU/UMA
Morocco	2001–	446,550 or 710,850					also member of AMU/UMA
Niger	1998–	1,267,000					also member of ECOWAS/CEDEAO and UEMOA
Nigeria	2001–	923,769					also member of ECOWAS/CEDEAO and WAMZ
Senegal	2000–	196,712					also member of ECOWAS/CEDEAO and UEMOA
Sierra Leone	2005–	71,740	7,092,113	2015 census	12,177	1,608	also member of ECOWAS/CEDEAO and WAMZ
Somalia	2001–	637,657					also member of IGAD and COMESA
Sudan	1998–	1,886,068 (2,505,813 before 2011)	41,592,539 30,894,000	2020 est. 2009 est.	177,678	4,232	also member of IGAD and COMESA
Togo	2002–	56,785					also member of ECOWAS/CEDEAO and UEMOA
Tunisia	2001–	163,610	11,722,038	2019 census	159,707	3,713	also member of AMU/UMA and COMESA
Total (25 members)		14,680,111 or 14,944,411

See also

• BSIC Group