“the Algiers Accord” And The Sahel At The Heart Of Bah N’daw’s Visit To Algiers

“This visit to Algeria, I have nourished it since my swearing-in during my inauguration on September 25, 2020 at the head of the transition in Mali. Today I am overwhelmed. Satisfied insofar as I felt the attention, the attachment that President Tebboune granted us, ”Mr. Bah N’Daw said.

In the same spirit, his Algerian counterpart Abdelmadjid Tebboune declared at the end of their meeting: “As we have already stated, during previous meetings, we remain at the disposal of our Malian brothers for whatever they judge. necessary in the current phase for the appeasement of the situation and the preparation of the elections which they have decided. ”

Mr. Bah N’Daw paid a formal visit, in two days he met the Algerian Prime Minister, Abdelaziz Djerad, the president of the Council of the Nation, Salah Goudjil, and the chief of staff of the army , Saïd Chengriha.

Algiers is keen on the peace process

However, this very cordial atmosphere was not at all appropriate a few months ago. In the aftermath of the overthrow of former President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta by the army on August 18, 2020, Algiers reiterated “its firm rejection of any unconstitutional change of government, in accordance with the relevant instruments of the African Union”, calling on “all parties to respect for constitutional order and a return to reason for a rapid exit from the crisis ”.

Ten days later, Tebboune dispatched his foreign minister Sabri Boukadoum to Bamako to inquire about the situation on the spot. “I came […] to listen first, discuss and exchange points of view on the situation in Mali so that the Malian people can live in peace, serenity and harmony, ”Mr. Boukadoum said at the time.

Two weeks later, on September 2, the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP), which seized power in Bamako, and the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA), held a meeting on “the implementation of the Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation resulting from the Algiers process ”.

This meeting took place the day after the renewal by the UN, for one year, of the sanctions against Mali, sanctions which target the parties contravening the Algiers agreement.

Algeria awaited this strong signal from the new masters of Bamako in order to guarantee the continuation of the peace process in northern Mali. Since then, meetings and visits have multiplied around the application of this agreement, even if, in Bamako, those in power are betting on the next authorities resulting from the elections, in order to complete this process.

Reactivate CEMOC

The peace and reconciliation agreement in Mali, called the “Algiers accord”, initialed on 1^is March 2015 in Algiers, was obtained after five rounds of dialogue, initiated in July 2014 under the leadership of international mediation, of which Algeria was the leader.

This program document was signed by the government of Bamako and the rebels of the Coordination of Azawad movements.

On February 14, Algerian Foreign Minister Sabri Boukadoum chaired the monitoring committee of the Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in Mali, resulting from the Algiers process, which was held for the first time. in Kidal, in northern Mali. Meeting which brought together six Malian ministers, the leadership of the signatory movements and international mediation, represented at a high level.

During the visit of the Malian Head of State this Saturday and Sunday in Algiers, and far from the cameras, other meetings took place in Algiers, the most significant of which is that of the Malian Minister of Defense and Veterans Affairs, Colonel Sadio Camara with the boss of the Algerian army, Lieutenant General Saïd Chengriha. Nothing filtered through this meeting, which was attended by Lieutenant-Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga, Malian Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralization. In view of the casting, questions of the application of the Algiers agreement and of security in northern Mali were at the heart of this meeting.

President N’Daw also explained to his Algerian counterpart the priorities of his program: “the gradual securing and stabilization of the northern part of the country, the establishment of a transitional government as well as a Council national transition and the entry into the government and other bodies of representatives of the movements signatory to the agreement [d’Alger] », According to a press release from Algerian Foreign Affairs.

Bilateral in force

For his part, President Tebboune “underlined the imperative need for the transition to continue in serenity and appeasement so that it can be crowned by the holding of the electoral deadlines within the set deadlines”, while reiterating “the determination Algeria to spare no effort to expedite the implementation of the agreement [d’Alger] ».

In addition to sponsoring the Algiers agreement, Algeria also intends to reactivate the Joint Operational Staff Committee (CEMOC), which brings together the armies of Mali, Algeria, Mauritania and Niger, and whose last meeting was held in early February in Bamako. This meeting was accompanied by the meeting of the Algerian-Malian mixed military commission, on February 9, in Bamako and the signing, on February 11, 2021 of the partnership agreement between Algeria and the Alioune Peacekeeping School. Blondin Beye.

On another bilateral level, Algiers and Bamako have agreed to reactivate the Great Mixed Commission and the Bilateral Border Committee, “to explore new niches of cooperation by paying particular attention to the promotion of the realization of structuring projects such as that of the Trans-Saharan route, in particular the Tamanrasset-Kidal-Gao section ”. In addition, the first session of the Algerian-Malian Business Council will soon be convened.