Mali, Côte d'Ivoire sign MOU to resolve case of 146 Ivorian soldiers detained in Mali
Bamako, Mali (PANA) - Mali's transitional president Colonel Assimi Goita received on Thursday an Ivorian -Togolese delegation led by the minister of State, minister of Defence of Côte d'Ivoire, Ibrahima Téné Ouattara, and the Togolese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Robert Dussey, the Malian Presidency told PANA.
Also present was the director of the Ivorian president's cabinet, Fidèle Sarassoro.
The meeting, which focused on the case of 146 Ivorian soldiers detained in Mali since 10 July 2022, enabled the two parties to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) aimed at quickly finding a solution to this crisis that is poisoning relations between the two neighbouring countries.
"We came to talk about the brotherhood between the Malian people and the Ivorian people and as you know, there was a misunderstanding between the Republic of Mali and the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire a few months ago, it was good that we could meet to talk about it. This is what we did with our Malian brothers," said Ouattara after the meeting.
"The meeting took place in a fraternal spirit of mutual understanding and we think we understood each other and that's the main thing and President Assimi Goïta did us the honour of receiving us so that I could convey the message of President Alassane Ouattara," he added.
Ibrahima Ouattara also thanked Togolese President Faure Gnassingbé through his Foreign Minister, Robert Dussey, who for many months, "has been trying to bring the two parties, Malian and Ivorian, closer together so that we can find a solution to the misunderstanding between our two countries".
The Malian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdoulaye Diop, said: "This is a framework for exchanges with our brothers of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, at the request of Alassane Abdramane Ouattara," adding that for several months, "we have been in this exercise of discussions."
He added that for several months, "we have been in this exercise of discussions, of dialogue because since the beginning for our part Mali, the President of the Transition indicated that this unfortunate incident has made relations difficult between Mali and Côte d'Ivoire, to be able to overcome them; we always favour the path of dialogue, the diplomatic path in order to find a way out".
He reiterated that although the issue was brought before the judicial authorities, it could not be resolved by forgetting the depth and density of relations between Mali and Côte d'Ivoire.
"We were able to note the will on both sides to work to overcome this event while preserving the ties that exist between our two countries. Our discussions led to the signing of a memorandum of understanding to promote peace, also, work to strengthen relations of friendship, brotherhood and good neighborliness between the two countries to converge in a positive dynamic to overcome this event," said Abdoulaye Diop.
He continued that "this is the dedication of Presidents Ouattara and Goïta to always put the interest of our countries, the interest of our people and the interest of the region above any other consideration. It is within this framework that this commitment was signed and we hope that this will allow us to go ahead in respect of the legal procedures underway to move quickly towards a happy ending to this crisis which will allow us to focus on the essential".
-0- PANA GT/JSG/BBA/RA 23Dec2022
