Russian deputy premier meets Mali president as part of trip to West Africa

By Oumar Sankare

BAMAKO, Mali (AA) - Mali and Russia expressed interest to strengthen bilateral ties with focus on key sectors such as energy, infrastructure, transport and agriculture, an official statement said on Friday.

Bilateral relations were discussed during a meeting between Mali President Gen. Assimi Goita and Alexandre Novak, deputy prime minister of Russia, according to the Mali presidency.

Novak expressed his willingness to raise Russian-Malian relations to a strategic level and stressed on the importance of cooperation in the areas of counter-terrorism and economic development.

He is leading a delegation of six deputy ministers as well as several department heads and business leaders on a working visit to Mali. This mission, which is part of a tour of the member countries of the Confederation of Sahel States (AES), is aimed to discuss the prospects for bilateral cooperation.

The Malian prime minister, Maj. Gen. Abdoulaye Maiga, said "the arrival of this strong delegation marks a new step to consolidate these achievements and envision a prosperous common future."

He stressed that the meeting strengthens the efforts of the AES, an alliance bringing together Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, with a view to pooling resources and actions.

The visit follows the first ministerial conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum, held on Nov. 9 and 10, in Sochi. During the event, the Malian delegation agreed with Russian authorities to accelerate the implementation of development projects and strengthen economic and trade relations.

Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, all currently under military rule, are members of Sahel alliance, formed in September last year.

The three nations withdrew from the Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, which had threatened to intervene militarily in Niger following a coup in that country last year.

Since then, the three nations have worked together to combat terrorism and integrate in areas such as single passport, communications, and diplomacy.