First telephone conversation between Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara and Colonel Assimi Goïta earlier this week, after the pardon granted last week to the 49 Ivorian soldiers arrested and sentenced by Malian justice. The Ivorian head of state reiterated to the head of the Malian junta his wish to invite him to make a friendly visit to Abidjan to “warm up relations between the two countries”.
With our correspondent in the region, Serge Daniel
The immediate entourage of Colonel Assimi Goïta confirms his very recent telephone conversation with the Ivorian head of state. This is the first conversation between the two men after the grace followed by the release of Ivorian soldiers. President Alassane Ouattara took the opportunity to reiterate his invitation to the President of the Malian transition to pay a friendly visit to Côte d’Ivoire. No date has yet been set.
And several Malian officials interviewed by telephone explain: certainly the desire to strengthen relations between the two countries is also a reality in Bamako, but Colonel Assimi Goïta is not going to jump on the first plane for Abidjan. One of our interlocutors on the Malian side adds: We should probably first encourage the holding of a meeting of the Mali/Côte d’Ivoire Mixed Cooperation Commission.
According to our information, the foreign ministers of the two countries should get in touch before the end of this week to speed up preparations for this meeting. According to observers, the two parties must continue to take action for confidence to return completely. Among Malian leaders, some note that after the release of the Ivorian soldiersPresident Alassane Ouattara certainly thanked the Malian people, but did not specifically mention Colonel Assimi Goïta.
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