Après le Mali et le Burkina, les Etats-Unis veulent relancer la coopération avec le Niger
A senior US official visited Niger at the end of the week, following recent visits to Burkina Faso and Mali, signaling the United States' willingness to resume cooperation with these sovereignist juntas that had turned their backs on some Western partners.
The United States had suspended much of its development aid and military cooperation after military regimes seized power in these three Sahelian countries between 2020 and 2023. Niger, for its part, demanded and obtained in September 2024 the withdrawal of American soldiers engaged in the fight against jihadism.
But since the return to power of US President Donald Trump in early 2025, the United States has displayed a new approach: "making trade diplomacy a central axis" of its engagement in Africa.
On Friday, the senior official from the Bureau of African Affairs at the U.S. State Department, Nick Checker, was received in Niamey by the Nigerien Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bakary Yaou Sangaré and Prime Minister Ali Mahamane Lamine Zeine.
In Niamey, the American envoy came "to present his country's new vision aimed at strengthening bilateral relations between Niger and the United States," the Nigerien Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Saturday.
"The discussions took place in a climate of serenity and mutual respect. Both parties expressed their willingness to relaunch cooperation on new foundations and to work towards restoring trust," the ministry added.
Among the topics discussed were "economic and trade cooperation" as well as "the fight against terrorism," according to the same source.
The exchanges should continue "in compliance with national sovereignty and priorities defined by mutual agreement," the ministry added.
Before Niger, Nick Checker had visited Mali in early February and Burkina Faso this week, also to revive cooperation.
The three countries are united within the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), a confederation that advocates a sovereignist and anti-imperialist policy.
They are plagued by violence from jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, which has caused thousands of deaths across large parts of their territories and which they are struggling to contain.
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