Nigeria and Mali are moving to revive stalled cooperation with a new joint commission focused on security, trade, energy and migration.
The decision came on Tuesday during a meeting in Abuja between Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, and Mali’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Oumar Coulibaly, at Tafawa Balewa House.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu said despite Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger exiting ECOWAS, Nigeria will not close its doors to the Sahel countries. She stressed the need for military collaboration to tackle terrorism and banditry in the region.
Priority areas for the commission will include security, trade, energy supply, irregular migration and human trafficking, and a bilateral air services agreement.
“Energy is another area that we could cooperate. We are bothered about the energy shortage in Mali. What happens to Mali is important to Nigeria,” the minister said. She also called for easier movement and stronger people-to-people ties.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu conveyed President Bola Tinubu’s sympathies to Mali over recent rebel attacks, including the killing of Defence Minister Sadio Camara in April. She added that a “purposeful working security agreement” is needed to support peace across West Africa.
Coulibaly said bilateral relations must continue despite regional challenges, and called for political dialogue ahead of the commission. He also announced that under the BASA, Air Peace will resume flights on the Lagos to Bamako route.
The meeting signals renewed efforts by both countries to deepen ties and address shared security and economic challenges in the Sahel.
