For this friendly and working visit, scheduled to last until February 26, the head of the Malian government is accompanied by a strong delegation of around fifty people. For the two countries ruled by a junta, the challenges are many.
“ It’s a visit of friendship and work “said Malian Prime Minister Choguel Maïga, on his arrival. This visit follows those of the authorities of the transition from Burkina Faso to Mali and the meeting of foreign ministers a few days ago in Ouagadougou.
According to the head of government, the first purpose of this visit is to present the condolences of the president of the transition, Colonel Assimi Goïta, and of the Malian people, to the friendly and brotherly people of Burkina Faso. He says he came to support Burkina Faso, whose armed forces were hit by a series of terrorist attacks. ” What’s happening to you today is to demoralize you, it’s to make you doubt your army “, explains Choguel Maïga, who encourages the Burkinabè to hold on.
According to the head of the Malian government, this difficult period that Burkina Faso is going through at the moment is due to “ his choices, which are not to everyone’s taste “. With the members of his delegation, about fifty people including several ministers, work sessions are planned for a sharing of experience, so that everyone learns from the other, underlined Choguel Maïga.
Common issues of concern
In addition to the official reasons for his visit, the two countries led by putschists intend to consolidate their relations in the face of the challenges of the moment, analyzes our regional correspondent, Serge Daniel.
One is a captain, the other is a colonel. Ibrahim Traoré and Assimi Goïta seized power by force in Burkina and Mali, two countries that share a border a thousand kilometers long. They have a common adversary: the jihadists. Rather painstakingly, they coped with the situation. But the two men still cannot control many localities in their respective countries. They refuse to be resigned and want to strengthen their relations in the fight against insecurity.
Cooperation with Russia could therefore be a subject of discussion. Bamako and Ouagadougou also want to strengthen ties against ECOWAS, from which they are excluded due to the coup. They know that they must respect a transition exit schedule if they want the sanctions lifted. But the fact is there: time is running out and the reforms are numerous. Probably that the two countries multiply the visits to release a line of defense vis-a-vis the sub-regional institution.
Finally, relations between Mali and France are bad and are not looking good with Burkina. This may be another topic of discussion.