APA-Bamako (Mali) The visit comes on the heels of the Malian army’s capture of Kidal.
For his first trip abroad since the July 26 putsch, the President of Niger’s ‘Conseil National pour la Sauvegarde de la Patrie’ (CNSP), Brigadier General Abdourahmane Tiani, has chosen Mali. During this “friendship and working visit”, which will last less than 24 hours, Niger’s Head of State will meet his counterpart, Mali’s President of the Transition, Colonel Assimi Goïta.
The visit comes just days after Mali recaptured the rebel town of Kidal. A feat hailed by the authorities of Niger and Burkina Faso. These two countries are reportedly supporting the recapture of this town in northern Mali. In fact, on September 16, the three countries led by military transitions formed a platform called the “Alliance of Sahel States” (AES) to combat terrorism and provide mutual assistance in the event of external aggression, as was the case some time ago with ECOWAS, which threatened to intervene militarily in Niger to restore deposed president Mohamed Bazoum to office.
During this visit, the CNSP President will have the opportunity to thank his Malian counterpart for not following the directives of the Economic Community of West African States imposing a blockade on Niger.
Russian cooperation is also likely to come up for discussion. On several occasions, the President of the Malian transition, who has called on Russian military partners, has exchanged views on the situation in Niger with Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin’s strongman. It remains to be seen whether Niger will follow Mali’s lead in strengthening its cooperation with Russia, particularly in the military field.
In Bamako, the President of the CNSP will meet Burkina Faso’s Prime Minister of Transition, Apollinaire Joachimson Kyelem de Tambela, who has been taking part in the Mali International Handicrafts Fair since November 22.
MD/ac/fss/abj/APA