Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye traveled to Bamako this week for talks with Mali’s junta leader, General Assimi Goïta, marking his first foreign trip since becoming ECOWAS chairman. Talks focused on military cooperation and restoring freight transport along the Dakar-Bamako corridor, a critical trade route disrupted by jihadist attacks. The visit comes as Mali grapples with a worsening jihadist insurgency that recently cost the country the strategic city of Kidal. Although Faye’s trip is bilateral rather than an official ECOWAS mission, it comes as relations between the regional bloc and the Alliance of Sahel States (AES)—comprising Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger—show signs of improvement after years of tension. Analysts believe Faye’s engagement with Mali could help rebuild trust between the two blocs.
RFI