Former African rivals boost economic ties
Algeria and Mali have agreed to deepen economic cooperation, with mining, agriculture, energy and transport among the sectors identified for potential joint projects, the Malian government said on Monday.
The plans were discussed during talks in Bamako between Malian Prime Minister Abdoulaye Maiga and his Algerian counterpart, Sifi Ghrieb. Officials presented investment opportunities in Mali’s gold and lithium industries, as well as rice and cotton production, livestock, agro-industry and financial services. Mali also highlighted export opportunities involving mangoes, sesame and cashew nuts.
Transport and energy were also on the agenda, with the two sides discussing the Trans-Sahara Highway, Air Algerie links and Mali’s energy deficit. Cooperation in higher education could also be expanded to include research, according to the Malian government.
According to Algeria Press Service (APS), Ghrieb said that Algiers was prepared to resume institutional cooperation between the two countries, describing the move as part of efforts to elevate bilateral relations to a “new stage.”
The talks are the latest step in a rapprochement between the two countries following a diplomatic rift. Relations deteriorated sharply in April 2025, when Algeria said it had shot down a Malian surveillance drone for violating its airspace, a claim Bamako disputed. Tensions had already been mounting after Mali withdrew from a 2015 Algerian-brokered peace deal with northern separatist groups and later accused Algiers of supporting armed groups, an allegation Algeria denied.
The neighbors restored diplomatic ties in July, returning their ambassadors and reopening their airspace. Maiga traveled to Algiers in August in the first high-level visit since the dispute, and the two prime ministers have now agreed on arrangements for a forthcoming visit to Algeria by Malian leader Assimi Goita.
Algeria has also moved to restore ties with Mali’s partners in the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), Burkina Faso and Niger. The other two countries had jointly recalled their ambassadors from Algiers during its dispute with Bamako.
The rapprochement has since expanded into security cooperation, with Algeria deploying four Su-30 fighter jets to Niger in late August at Niamey’s request following a failed military mutiny in the capital.
