The Community of Sahel-Saharan States was established on 4th February 1998 in Tripoli (Great Socialist people's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) during the Summit Meeting in presence of the Heads of State of Libya, Mali, Chad, Niger, Sudan and a representative of the President of Burkina Faso.

The Community of Sahel-Saharan States CEN-SAD became a Regional Economic Community during the 36th Ordinary Session of the Conference of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity, held in Lomé (Republic of Togo) on 4-12 July 2000.