Relations between Mali and Russia have experienced great development in recent months, after the start of the military partnership and in several areas between the two countries, the results of which have become visible, following the rise in power achieved by the Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) in the fight against armed groups and the humanitarian support that Russia regularly provides in Mali.
In this regard, following his visit to Iraq on Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Mali on Tuesday morning with the aim of strengthening the partnership between the two countries. The Head of Russian diplomacy was received by his Malian counterpart, Abdoulaye Diop.
During his short visit, Mr. Lavrov met with the head of the ruling military council, Colonel Assimi Goïta, and held talks with Abdoulaye Diop and held a press conference. Recall that this is the first visit of the head of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Mali in the history of bilateral relations.
For his part, the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, declared that the close development of the partnership between Bamako and Moscow in various fields, including the economy, is one of the objectives of both parties, and he affirmed that Russia will continue to implement existing plans, including the supply of essential energy resources, food, fertilizer in Mali.
“We want to use the experience gained over decades of bilateral relations after you gained independence with the support of our country to make further contribution to state formation, economy and to the solution of social problems in the interest of the people of Mali at this stage.” Sergei Lavrov added in his press conference.
In addition, the Malian Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared that this visit “consecrates the goodwill” of the head of the transition, Assimi Goïta, and Russian President Vladimir Putin “to bring new dynamism” to cooperation in the fields of defence, security and the economy, while the current interim government has made Russia a major ally in the fight against terrorism.
The development of cooperation between the two countries is an important decision for Mali in the context of the fight against the terrorist invasion, which foreign forces failed to eliminate for several years until the coming to power of Goïta who decided to end this agreement, and the launch of cooperation with a reliable military partner like Russia.
This approach will thus contribute significantly to the development of other fields, in particular that of energy, where the West African country has multiple natural resources that will allow Mali to become one of the most major exporters in the world in this field after a few years.
