Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger Embrace Morocco’s Gateway: The landlocked nations of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have supported an initiative from Morocco to grant them access to the Atlantic Ocean, as stated by the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
During a meeting on Monday in Rabat, the capital of Morocco, the foreign ministers of the three military-led West African countries shared their positions with King Mohammed VI, according to a ministry statement.
Last year, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger announced their withdrawal from the regional bloc known as ECOWAS. They subsequently formed a security partnership called the Alliance of Sahel States, severed military ties with longstanding Western allies such as the United States and France, and sought military support from Russia.
Morocco, a significant investor in West Africa’s financial and agricultural sectors, introduced the trade access initiative in November 2023, following ECOWAS’s imposition of trade restrictions on the three nations.
Mali’s foreign minister, Abdoulaye Diop, stated that the initiative is beneficial for “diversifying our access to the sea,” according to state media.
In a separate incident last month, Algeria reported shooting down a Malian drone that had entered its airspace near the border town of Tin Zaouatine. Mali, however, denied that the drone crossed the border.
Algeria has severed ties with Morocco and supports the Polisario Front, which seeks an independent state in Western Sahara—a territory that Morocco claims as its own and where it is constructing a $1 billion port.
The new Alliance of Sahel States has expelled French and other Western forces, opting instead for military support from Russia.
In December, Morocco facilitated the release of four French spies held in Burkina Faso, five months after France recognized Rabat’s sovereignty over Western Sahara.
