Senegal seeks to strengthen ties with Mali and the AES, about a week after their departure from ECOWAS :
The Malian and Senegalese defense ministers pledged in Bamako to strengthen their bilateral cooperation, particularly in the fight against terrorism and cross-border crime. A two-day meeting that comes after Mali’s withdrawal from ECOWAS.
” Mali has left ECOWAS but remains willing to build fruitful relations ” with its partners, particularly Senegal. This was declared by General Sadio Camara, Malian Minister of Defense, during a meeting with his Senegalese counterpart Birame Diop in Bamako.
This high-level meeting, which lasted two days, takes place in a tense regional context. The Senegalese minister stressed that he had received ” instructions from President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who gives absolute priority to strengthening cooperation between Senegal and Mali ,” reports the Malian army.
The two countries, which share a 419-kilometer border, face common security challenges. ” The fight against terrorism and violent extremism, cross-border crime, illicit trafficking and criminal networks require the pooling of efforts ,” Birame Diop insisted.
The Malian minister also mentioned the vision of the President of the Transition, General Assimi Goïta, based on ” respect for the sovereignty of Mali, respect for strategic choices and the choice of partners as well as taking into account the interests of the Malian people .”
Military cooperation between the two countries has already taken the form of exchanges of trainees in military schools and joint border patrols since the signing of a technical military agreement in March 2021. The discussions also addressed environmental issues, in particular the preservation of the Falémé River, where gold mining has been suspended on the Senegalese side.
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