Snubbed during the US-Africa summit (13-15 December 2022), the President of the transition of Burkina Faso Ibrahim Traore, is invited by Moscow to the next Russia-Africa Summit planned for July 2023.
Moscow took advantage of the official visit of Mr. Apollinaire Kyelem de Tambela, Prime Minister of Burkina Faso, to make this decision, a symbolic decision that comes at a time when tensions have increased in relations between Ouagadougou and Paris.
This 48-hour trip by the Prime Minister of Burkina Faso, which began on December 9 in Moscow, went almost unnoticed. Mr. Kyelem de Tambela first made a whistle stop in Bamako on December 7 before flying to Russia.
While the Prime Minister’s Office claims it was a simple “private visit,” the size of the delegation, made up of ministers and army chiefs, could actually foretell cooperation between the two countries.
During his visit, Russian diplomatic chief Sergei Lavrov, on behalf of Russian President Vladimir Putin, invited Captain Ibrahim Traore to the next Russia-Africa summit scheduled for July 2023 in St. Petersburg.
“Russian President Vladimir Putin has invited the President of the Republic of Burkina Faso, Captain Ibrahim Traore. I will give him the letter of invitation when I arrive,” said Kyelem de Tembela, in an interview with the Russian channel, RT France.
He added: “In principle, there is no reason for us not to come. If I am here, it is so that relations between Russia and Burkina Faso can be strengthened.”
This second Russia-Africa summit, initially scheduled for November 2022, but finally postponed because of the war in Ukraine, will serve to implement “integrated solutions to strengthen trade, economic and investment cooperation,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
The Prime Minister of Burkina Faso presented himself as a “precursor” in a perspective of “further bilateral relations” between the two countries. Mr. Kyelem de Tembèla said he “hopes” for “state visits” between Burkina and Russia, if Moscow shows more “willingness to cooperate” with Ouagadougou.
“If your intentions are good and things become clearer, our cooperation will strengthen. There will be state visits. Maybe the Head of State, Captain Ibrahim Traore will come to Moscow, or maybe I will come back here. This is what we hope,” the Prime Minister of Faso said.
DS/cgd/fss/abj/APA