Bamako spoke for the umpteenth time about its tense relations with Paris, this Tuesday on the sidelines of the 8th International Forum on Peace and Security in Dakar (Senegal), suggesting that a fruitful collaboration is possible if and only if its » sovereignty » is respected.
“Mali wanted our sovereignty to be respected, that our strategic choices and our choice of partners be respected, and that the vital interests of Malians be taken into account,” Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop told reporters. . And to add, “if these elements are observed, Mali has no problem dealing with any partner. Including France”.
The head of Malian diplomacy drew attention to the fact that “Mali is not a child, we are members of the United Nations, we know the rules (…) What is important is really that our partners come in the mindset to work with us for solutions”. There is no question that these partners « come to dictate solutions to us », he hammered.
The 8th edition of the Dakar International Forum on Peace and Security in Africa took place from October 24 to 25 under the theme “Africa put to the test by exogenous shocks: challenges of stability and sovereignty”. The Opening Ceremony was presided over by the Senegalese leader Macky Sall, also Chairman-in-Office of the African Union, in the presence of the Angolan Heads of State, João Lourenço, and Cape Verdean, José Maria Neves, as well as other distinguished African and other guests.
In his speech, President Macky Sall, among other things, mentioned the urgency « to make the African standby force operational », in the context of the fight against terrorism, after having recognized that « peacekeeping operations of the UN have shown their limits » and that it « is time to change the doctrine » instead of « always counting on the outside ».
He also attacked “unconstitutional changes (which) are not acceptable” and “the resurgence of coups, foreign political-military interference”.
By OMA Newsletter N° 913 of 26/10/2022
Article published under the direction of Dr. Najib Kettani
The OMA, NGO with an Intercontinental vocation
For the development of cultural exchanges
Valuing human potential
The promotion and consolidation of Africa’s development, and
Inter-African integration
