The Algerian Foreign Affairs Minister made a 48-hour visit to Bamako, reports said on Thursday.
For one of his first trips since his appointment as head of Algerian diplomacy, Ahmed Attaf chose Mali. In addition to being neighboring states sharing a common border of more than 1,300 km, Algeria and Mali
also maintain good relations. Among the objectives of this visit is the revival of the peace process in Mali, which has been stalled for several months.
Algeria, which is leading the international mediation, is doing its utmost to renew the dialogue between the various protagonists of the Malian crisis, which has lasted for a decade. For several months now, there has been sharp tension between the various parties to the Agreement (government and armed groups) who have broken off dialogue since the end of last year.
This situation almost degenerated after Malian army planes flew over localities controlled by the former rebellion, on the occasion of the celebration of the “11th anniversary of the proclamation of the Independence of Azawad.” Considering this a provocation, the ex-rebels, belonging mainly to the Coordination of Azawad Movements
(CMA), which has decided to advance under a single banner, did not hesitate to fire on the planes without causing any damage.
Thus, the 48-hour visit to Mali of the Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs and National Community Abroad, Ahmed Attaf makes sense since it is intended to bring the various parties around the dialogue table to revive the implementation of the Peace Agreement signed in 2015. It is within this framework that during his visit, in addition to his Malian counterpart Abdoulaye Diop, the Algerian minister also met with the Minister of Defense and Veterans, Colonel Sadio Camara, the minister in charge of the implementation of the Agreement, Colonel
Major Ismael Wague, the president of the National Transitional Council (CNT) acting as parliament during this period.
After meeting with Malian officials, the head of Algerian diplomacy also held working sessions with representatives of several movements that signed the Agreement.
While calling on the various parties to overcome the tension that currently opposes them, he also promised that the support of his country will not be lacking. Certainly, in the coming days, a meeting will bring together all the signatory parties of the Agreement in order to relaunch the implementation of the Agreement, which has been
interrupted for several months. To this end, the two parties stressed the need to find a positive compromise that can strengthen trust between the Malian brothers with a view to restoring peace and security, a guarantee of development and prosperity.
The opportunity was also seized to discuss economic cooperation in order to achieve the structuring projects of common interest. This visit was also an opportunity for the leaders of both countries to realize the need to strengthen the axis Bamako-Alger. This necessarily requires the intensification of development actions for the benefit of the respective populations. In this regard, the prospects for development of certain priority sectors were discussed, including air transport, energy sector, banking institutions, vocational training and the field of communication.
On the security front, the two parties have especially stressed the importance of further strengthening collaboration between the two countries in the fight against terrorism and cross-border crime.
Ahmed Attaf – who has served several times as Foreign Minister of hiscountry – took over from Ramtane Lamamra as head of Algerian diplomacyin mid-March. After serving as ambassador in several countries, he also worked in some organizations such as the African Union and theUnited Nations. He mastered various diplomatic issues, especially that of Mali, in which the outgoing Lamamra was involved at the forefront. It was under the aegis of the latter that the Peace Agreement was signed in 2015, but it is hard to implement.
MD/ac/fss/abj/APA