Landlocked Burkina, Mali, Niger back sea access through Morocco
Foreign ministers of military-ruled Sahel states of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger said on Monday they endorse an initiative offering them access to global trade through Morocco's Atlantic ports, Morocco's state news agency reported.
The foreign ministers expressed their countries' position during a meeting with Morocco's King Mohammed VI in Rabat, it said.
The West African nations, run by juntas that have taken power in coups in recent years, withdrew from the regional grouping Ecowas last year and formed an alliance known as the Confederation of Sahel States (AES).
Morocco, a major investor in West Africa's financial and agricultural sectors, announced its trade access initiative in November 2023, after Ecowas imposed trade restrictions on the three states.
The initiative is conducive to "diversifying our access to the sea", Mali's foreign minister Abdoulaye Diop told state media.
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