This Thursday, September 22, Mali celebrates its independence, proclaimed 62 years ago by Modibo Keïta, its first president. On the sidelines of this celebration, Mamady Doumbouya, President of the Guinean Transition, went to Bamako this Wednesday, September 21, for “a friendship and working visit.

After stepping off the presidential plane of the Republic of Mali, the Guinean president was welcomed by his Malian counterpart, Colonel Assimi Goïta, at the Modibo Kéita airport in Bamako with all the honors of his rank. This is indeed his first foreign visit since he took power on September 5, 2021. “I am in Bamako next to my brother, President Assimi Goïta, to celebrate the independence of Mali and accompany the Malian people, who are a brotherly people,” Colonel Mamady Doumbouya told the press.

An ECOWAS summit with high stakes

In addition, the visit of the Guinean president takes place in a particular international context. This Thursday in New York, an extraordinary summit of ECOWAS is being held within the framework of the United Nations General Assembly, which will focus on Guinea and Mali. Both countries, for various reasons, could be hit by sanctions from the sub-regional organization.

Indeed, since the coup of September 5, 2021, which brought Colonel Doumbouya to power, he and his men are still struggling to establish a reasonable duration for the transition, according to the sub-regional body. If the authorities in Conakry maintain their 36-month military transition, ECOWAS could impose severe sanctions against them.

As for Mali, the case of the 46 Ivorian soldiers detained by Bamako could also lead to a return of sanctions by the West African regional organization. And in this case the country would be in great difficulty. Especially when we know that the authorities in Conakry were practically the only ones to give him a boost in the face of the sanctions imposed by ECOWAS last January, by keeping their borders open.