Belgian foreign minister visits Burkina Faso amid tensions
The Belgian foreign minister, Maxime Prevot, met with his Burkinabe counterpart and the President of Burkina Faso on August 28. According to RFI, the foreign minister insisted on the necessity of building “a cooperation of respect” between the two countries.
This diplomatic visit comes as a precious occasion to rebuild some European ties with Burkina Faso, particularly as the Sahel State Alliance country has cut ties with European powers such as France. The decision was based on accusations that France is pursuing “neo-colonial ambitions” and supporting activities contrary to the country’s national interests. Paris rejected the allegations as “hostile and unfounded,” warning that the move reflects the Burkinabe authorities’ increasingly confrontational foreign policy and confirming that reciprocal measures are under consideration.
The European Union faced similar tensions through the expulsion of two members 2 of the Ouagadougou European delegation on July 15.
Maxime Prevot’s visit, as a cooperative diplomatic discussion, is welcomed by Ouagadougou, which mentioned the importance of the Belgian partnership for the past 5 decades, further adding that this visit will “help bring the identified priorities to fruition”
The Belgian minister added that he “wants to contribute to creating bridges and links” despite “the disagreements”. He further stated that he regretted “a gap of misunderstanding between the European Union and the countries of the Alliance of Sahel States”.
As the countries of the Sahel State Alliance are distancing themselves from European institutions and countries, other actors play important roles in Burkina Faso. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has met many times with Sahel leaders in the past 2 years, strengthening diplomatic and particularly military ties through their paramilitary group Africa Corps.
Prevot told the Belgian media Le Soir that “it is hard to reproach [Burkina Faso] for this military collaboration [with Moscow], if at the same time licenses for Western weapons systems are systematically denied to them”.
RFI, Maghrebi.org
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