Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko on Monday paid a surprise visit to Mali, which recently cemented a breakaway union with fellow junta-led Sahel nations Niger and Burkina Faso.
The trip, reported by Malian state media and confirmed by a source close to the Senegalese government, is Sonko's first official visit to a country belonging to the Confederation of Sahel States, all of which are led by military leaders who took power in coups.
It was set up in July as a rival to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a regional bloc to which Senegal belongs.
Following a "very frank" and "very brotherly" meeting with junta chief Colonel Assimi Goita, Sonko said Senegal and Mali were united when it came to "realities... that require us to continue to cooperate on all levels", according to Mali's national broadcaster ORTM.
'Same understanding'
"I leave here with the certainty that we have exactly the same understanding of what our relations should be," Sonko was quoted as saying.
The Senegalese premier's visit, which was not communicated to the press in advance, follows a trip to Rwanda to attend President Paul Kagame's inauguration.
Sonko was welcomed at the airport by Malian Prime Minister Choguel Kokalla Maiga, ORTM reported.
His trip came after Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye visited at the end of May and said he wanted to bring Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso back into the ECOWAS fold.
Assurances to Bamako
Sonko reportedly offered his assurances to Bamako that "no one will go through Senegal to destabilise Mali or impose sanctions", and denounced "the embargo that was placed on Mali by brother countries, and unfortunately by our country" under Faye's predecessor Macky Sall.
ECOWAS had levied stiff sanctions against Mali af ter the coup that brought Goita to power in 2020, but lifted them two years later.
"Any pan-Africanist must have as their one and only objective uniting Africans beyond our differences," Sonko was quoted as saying.
In January, Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso announced they were leaving ECOWAS, accusing it of being subservient to former colonial ruler France and not doing enough to help them fight jihadism -- a persistent scourge in the Sahel.
Senegal shares around 500 kilometres (310 miles) of border with Mali and has significant economic and cultural relations with its north ern neighbour.
As a result, Dakar has long been preoccupied with the security situation in Mali and the wider Sahel region, fearing its spread to Senegal.
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