Mali and Côte d’Ivoire sign a memorandum allowing the release of the 46 Ivorian soldiers

AA / Bamako / Amarana Maiga

Mali and Côte d’Ivoire signed a memorandum on Thursday which will serve as the basis for a happy ending for the release of the 46 Ivorian soldiers detained in Bamako since July 10, 2022, qualified by the Malian authorities as “mercenaries”.

The 49 soldiers, including 3 women who were recently released, were charged last August with “attempting to undermine the external security of the state”.

An Ivorian-Togolese delegation led by the Ivorian Minister of Defense was received in audience this Thursday in Bamako by the President of the Transition then extended to the Malian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation as well as the Minister of State, Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralization, Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga.

“As you know, there was a misunderstanding between the Republic of Mali and that of Côte d’Ivoire a few months ago. It was good that we might meet to talk regarding it. This is what we did with our Malian brothers and President Assimi Goïta did us the honor of receiving so that I might convey to him the message of President Alassane Ouattara”, declared to the press, Téné Birahima Ouattara Minister of State, Ivorian Minister of Defense leaving the hearing.

“The meeting took place in a spirit of brotherhood and mutual understanding,” he added.

Abdoulaye Diop Malian Minister of Foreign Affairs indicated “for several months we have been in this exercise of discussions, of dialogue, because from the beginning our part President Goïta has indicated this unfortunate incident which has made relations difficult between Mali and the Côte d’Ivoire to be able to overcome them, we favor the path of dialogue, the diplomatic path to be able to find a way out. This, he reiterated despite the case being brought before the courts.

The Malian diplomat also underlines that “since their arrival we have had the will on both sides to work to be able to overcome this event only by preserving the links that exist between our countries”.

“The act that we have just taken is a major act, it goes beyond this misunderstanding, we thought that it was necessary to privilege, to reinforce the bonds of good neighborliness of fraternity and friendship between Mali and the Coast of ivory. This is what must be remembered first. Secondly, we talked regarding the affair of the 46 soldiers and as Minister Diop said, it is a question that is in the process of being resolved,” insisted Téné Birahima Ouattara, Minister of State, Ivorian Minister of Defense. .

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Togo, a mediating country in the case of Ivorian soldiers, welcomed this rapprochement of the positions of the two parties.

“We are happy as mediating representative of the President of the Republic of Togo, witness and co-signer of the commitment that the Malian and Ivorian parties have made this evening here in Bamako”.

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