Burkina Faso/Russia: Diplomatic relations between Ouagadougou and Moscow are in good shape and highly beneficial to Burkina Faso

Cooperation between  Russia and the Land of Honest Men has grown stronger since the transitional president, Ibrahim TRAORE, took power in 2022. They have joined forces to combat the jihadist threat in Burkina Faso.

As a result, meetings between players from the two countries have taken place one after the other. The most recent, on Thursday 31 August, took place at the Presidency of Burkina Faso. A Russian delegation was received by the Head of State, President of the transition, Ibrahim TRAORE. The Russian delegation, led by the Deputy Defence Minister of the Russian Federation, Colonel-General Younous-Bek EVKOUROV, reaffirmed the Russian Federation’s support for the transition.

This meeting follows the Russia-Africa summit held in Saint Petersburg at the end of July, in which President Ibrahim Traore played an active part. Discussions between the two parties in Ouagadougou therefore revolved around the issues raised at the summit and the conclusions drawn from the exchanges between the two countries’ defence ministers.

The current alliance between Russia and Burkina Faso focuses primarily on the military sphere, with training and technical support in the fight against terrorism. This has enabled Burkina Faso to gain the upper hand against terrorist groups. The outlook is for the relationship between the two countries to develop and extend to other sectors, such as the economy, nuclear energy and all areas of development.

Nadou Traoré