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Under strict pressure from the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the coup leaders in August have installed an interim government that will direct state affairs until the next elections.
Taken out of obscurity, former Defense Minister Bah Ndaw (here) became the transitional president, while Colonel Assimi Goita serves as vice president. The transition committee made up of representatives of political parties, civil and religious groups agreed on both positions.
According to their biographical reports, they both had part of their professional military training in the Soviet Union and Russia respectively, please read and watch this video, indicating that Mali’s new leadership could be more friendly to Russia. The transitional civil government, the swearing-in ceremony, and the inauguration of office took place on September 25, completely closing the political chapter on the political administration of Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.
The military takeover, Mali’s fourth since it gained independence from France in 1960, came after months of protests, fueled by Keita’s failure to roll back a bloody jihadist insurgency and solve the country’s many economic problems.
Over the years, reform policies have had little impact on living standards, most of which are very impoverished in the country. As a developing country, it ranks at the bottom of the United Nations Development Index (2018 report). The country, however, is home to approximately 20 million inhabitants. The main task, at this time, is to develop “a comprehensive roadmap” for economic recovery.
Before the September 25 ceremony, Assimi Goita had issued a public statement at a conference covered by the media for the people of Mali: “We pledge to you to spare no effort in the implementation of all these resolutions in the interest of exclusive to Malians. ” We request and expect the understanding, support and accompaniment of the international community in this diligent and correct implementation of the Charter and the transition roadmap. The results you have achieved allow me to look forward to the advent of a new democracy, and a prosperous Mali. “
While West African leaders are likely to lift economic sanctions imposed in the wake of last month’s coup, following the installation of an interim civilian president, several foreign countries, including Russia, have already recognized these new developments aimed at stability. Russia is apparently exploring all possibilities to regain some of its influence from the Soviet era as Mali begins to restructure and systematize its state administration.
In an official statement to mark the 60th anniversary of Mali’s independence from France, the Russian Foreign Ministry (MFA) hoped that Mali would establish a civilian form of government and focus on holding free and democratic elections after a brief transition period with the assistance of the Economic Community of West African States and the African Union.
It should be recalled here that Russia and Mali are linked by friendship and cooperation. In 1960 Mali achieved independence after a long struggle and opted for a socialist orientation. There were large projects implemented with Soviet help. These include a cement factory, the Kalana gold mining company, a stadium in Bamako, the Gabriel Toure Hospital, an airfield in Gao, and several national educational facilities. Large-scale prospecting operations were carried out and 9,000 hectares were converted into rice paddies.
Thousands of Soviet educators, doctors and other specialists worked in Mali. More than 10,000 Malian citizens received higher education in Russia.
“We hope that the proven ties between Russia and Mali will continue to develop steadily in the interests of both states. We would like to congratulate the kind people of Mali on their national holiday and wish them every success in achieving reconciliation. national, reviving their country as soon as possible, and we wish them peace, prosperity and well-being, “the statement emphasized in particular.
As Russia strives to strengthen its overall profile in the G5 Sahel region, Mali could become a gateway to the region. Russia has done military-technical cooperation as part of its diplomacy and is interested in fighting the growing terrorism in Africa.
Experts suspected that regime change in Mali could cause new leaders friendly to Russia to take over the country from friendly Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and his government, dealing a severe blow to French influence and interests not only in Mali but in the entire Sahel area. that includes Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger.
Research professor Irina Filatova from the Moscow Higher School of Economics recently explained in an email: “Russia’s influence in the Sahel has been growing just as French influence and aid have waned, especially in the sphere of The African countries must choose their friends, and the people who are now in power will be friendlier to Russia. “
That said, the transitional government could continue to leverage with Russia. Reports indicate that Russia has established cordial relations with the transitional government. On August 21, the Russian ambassador to Mali and Niger, Igor Gromyko, met with representatives of the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP). The CNSP is a general organization of military personnel involved in the coup, which wishes to oversee an 18-month transition before returning power to the civil authorities. Russia signed a military cooperation agreement with Mali in June 2019.
In November 2019, protesters in Bamako urged Moscow to repel Islamist attacks in Mali as it did in Syria. In the demonstrations in Bamako’s Independence Square that followed the coup, protesters were seen waving Russian flags and holding placards praising Russia for its solidarity with Mali.
Samuel Ramani, DPhil candidate in the Department of Politics and International Relations at St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford, wrote in the Journal of the Foreign Policy Research Institute that “Since Russia has a wide range of associations in Mali and Sahel, countries are frustrated with the counter-terrorism policies of western powers. Moscow could use the Mali coup to secure economic deals and strengthen its geopolitical position in West Africa. “
According to the expert, research institutes and the Kremlin-aligned media have consistently framed France’s counterterrorism operations in Niger and Mali as a front for the extraction of uranium resources from the Sahel. Russian nuclear power giant Rosatom, which is in direct competition with its French counterpart Avenda for contracts in the Sahel, could benefit from favorable relations with Mali’s new political authorities. Nordgold, a Russian gold company that has investments in Guinea and Burkina Faso, could also expand its mining initiatives in Mali’s gold reserves.
As one of the largest on the continent, Mali is a landlocked country located in West Africa. For centuries, its northern city of Timbuktu was a key regional trading post and a center of Islamic culture. Mali is known worldwide for having produced some of the stars of African music, most notably Salif Keita. But this cultural prominence has long since faded.
After independence from France in 1960, Mali suffered from droughts, rebellions and 23 years of military dictatorship until the democratic elections of 1992. Mali has fought massive protests over corruption, electoral probity and a jihadist insurgency that has conquered much of the north and the East. ungovernable. President Ibrahim Keita, who took office in September 2013, was unable to unify the country. With time and a commitment to sustainable development and good governance, there is still hope for Mali.
Kester Kenn Klomegah writes frequently about Russia, Africa, and the BRICS.
