Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo said he hoped Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger would rejoin the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) regional bloc, in an interview with FRANCE 24. The decision of the military juntas in the three countries to withdraw from ECOWAS was a setback, and the security situation has worsened since the departure of French troops from the Sahel region last year, Akufo-Addo admitted.