Bamako-Conakry-Ouagadougou axis: an “ambitious” but “difficult” program
Guinean Foreign Minister Morissanda Kouyaté (left), and his Burkinabè counterparts Olivia Rouamba (center) and Malian Abdoulaye Diop (right), on February 9, 2023 in Ouagadougou.
AFP - OLYMPIA DE MAISMONT
Text by: David Baché
2 mins
They want to make the Bamako-Conakry-Ouagadougou axis “
a strategic and priority area
”.
The Foreign Ministers of Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso met on Thursday February 9 in Ouagadougou for an unprecedented "
tripartite meeting
".
Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso are suspended from the bodies of the African Union and ECOWAS.
While displaying their “
attachment to the principles and objectives
” of continental and regional organizations, these three countries display a common agenda of their own.
And which seems as ambitious as it is complicated to implement.
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Abdoulaye Diop, Morissanda Kouyaté and Olivia Rouamba, the Foreign Ministers of Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso, announce a long list of joint projects: on the supply of hydrocarbons and electricity, on the development of trade and transport from the port of Conakry, on the common organization of mining, on the construction of a railway line linking their three capitals, or even on the construction of new roads.
The list, which is not exhaustive, is necessarily enticing.
Baba Dakono is executive secretary of the Citizen Observatory on Governance and Security in Bamako (OCGS):
“
It is true that it is an extremely ambitious program, which is also curiously reminiscent of the priority investment program that had been put in place by the G5 Sahel.
It is not really a new fact to realize that investments in terms of infrastructure and trade routes were also a way of responding to the security crisis.
In the current context, the endogenous financing of these various actions will be difficult.
Moreover, these States expect technical and financial support for the execution of this ambitious program.
»
HE @AbdoulayeDiop8, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation arrived in Ouagadougou on Wednesday for a tripartite meeting with Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea, as part of political consultations on subjects of common interest.
pic.twitter.com/hai4xreW3k
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mali (@MaliMaeci) February 8, 2023
Because they are still in transition after military coups that broke the constitutional order, Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso are currently suspended from the bodies of the African Union and the Economic Community of the States of West Africa (ECOWAS).
The three countries announce
“
joint initiatives
” to obtain the lifting of these suspensions
, without specifying which ones.
Will it be a political advocacy group with these institutions?
Legal action, as Mali had already done when it was still hit by economic sanctions?
Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso finally intend to set up “
a permanent consultation framework
”.
No details on the deadline or the form of this new format, but the three countries resolutely show their desire to unite.
Final communiqué of the tripartite meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Mali, Burkina Faso and the Republic of Guinea.
pic.twitter.com/XOPc407FeV
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mali (@MaliMaeci) February 10, 2023
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