Resolving international conflicts between states is vital in facilitating the growth of international trade and development, and to encourage foreign investment across nations. The persistence of conflicts among nations has proved to be detrimental to economic growth and development for the parties involved in the conflict. Authors such as Kremeni?u?k (1991), Zartman (1999) and Bercovitch (2007) argue in favour of implementing conflict resolution techniques such as negotiation and mediation in resolving international disputes. The responsibility for implementing these techniques lies with the foreign policy makers and business leaders within nations to encourage the mitigation of conflict, failing which the nations would face setbacks in their economic output and eventually their overall international image. This would ultimately result in the absence of a potent scenario in which international trade and investment can flourish.

Ranked in the bottom 10 countries within the Human Development Index (UNDP, 2015), Sahel countries not only face chronic poverty, but also compounded disasters. After three decades of implementing projects and programs through economic aid, few tangible changes have been achieved. Rarely, some improvements have been observed, but it has been difficult to correlate these changes to any one intervention.