On Friday 25 November, the President of the Malian transition, Colonel Assimi Goïta, received in audience the Moroccan Minister of National Education, Chakib Benmoussa, at the Presidential Palace in Koulouba. At the end of the meeting, Mr Benmoussa told the media professionals that he was the bearer of a message from His Majesty King Mohammed VI to the President of the transition in Mali. It is a “message of brotherhood and friendship from His Majesty King Mohammed VI”, he said.
According to his statements, the Moroccan sovereign Mohammed VI is willing to further strengthen the cooperation between his country Morocco and Mali of Assimi Goïta. This is true in the cultural, economic, military and security fields. “His Majesty King Mohammed VI is willing to further strengthen the cooperation between the two countries in the cultural, economic, military and security fields to contribute to the stability of the region,” said Moroccan Minister of National Education Chakib Benmoussa.
The Moroccan envoy also reassured “the Malian authorities of the will of His Majesty King Mohammed VI to develop the historical and special relations between the two countries.
This initiative to strengthen the cooperation comes as an oxygen for the Malian junta. For some months now, Assimi Goïta’s country seems to want to go it alone: withdrawal from the G5 Sahel, no more Barkhane force, dismissal of the French army. Not to mention that the Ivorian and German forces will soon be packing up from the country, on the orders of their governments. The ruling military junta has also decided to put an end to the activities of all French NGOs and those receiving support from Paris on Malian territory. This was in response to the decision by Paris to suspend French official development assistance to Mali. Given the current situation, it can be said that Bamako is becoming more isolated.
It is to be hoped that this desire to strengthen cooperation with Morocco will be fruitful, especially in terms of security, in order to truly curb the terrorist threat in Bamako, for the benefit of the poor population.
