The Burkinabe Minister of Foreign Affairs launched the second edition of the Fraternity Week of the
Alliance of Sahel States (AES) Confederation on Sunday in Bobo-Dioulasso.
This was on the sidelines of the 22nd National Culture Week (SNC), authorities announced.
The opening ceremony of the 2nd AES Fraternity Week, presided over by the Minister of Foreign Affairs on behalf of the Burkinabe Prime Minister, was held at the Bobo-Dioulasso Craft Village, in the presence of Confederation officials, government and regional authorities, as well as delegations from Mali and Niger.
Organised for the second time, following the inaugural event in Ségou, Mali, Fraternity Week aims to strengthen ties between the populations of the three member countries and to promote their shared cultural heritage.
Burkina Faso’s Foreign Minister, Karamoko Jean-Marie Traore, presented the event as a framework for dialogue and rapprochement between peoples.
“The fraternity we are celebrating is not a mere slogan; it is an ancestral reality, forged in intercommunal marriages, centuries-old trade, alliances, and shared hardships,” he declared.
He also emphasised the role of culture as a “strategic pillar” of confederal sovereignty, considering it “a unifying force” and “a source of hope for young people.”
In line with the theme of the 2026 National Culture Week, “Culture, Youth, and the Transmission of Social Values,” the minister called on young people in the African, Spanish, and Mediterranean (ASM) region to engage and innovate in order to make culture a lever for asserting identity and sovereignty.
The program for Fraternity Week, scheduled from April 26 to May 1, includes exhibitions, panels, artistic and culinary activities, as well as a “Community Village” bringing together some thirty Burkinabè groups and about fifteen others from across the African continent.
Following the ceremony, officials cut the ribbon at the Community Village and planted a tree, a symbol of fraternity among the peoples of the AES Confederation, according to the same source.
HO/te/Sf/fss/as/APA