Burkina Faso sets sight on joining BRICS

BAMAKO, Mali

Burkina Faso has expressed its interest in joining the BRICS group of emerging economies, the West African nation’s prime minister said on Monday.

Speaking to Igor Martynov, Russia’s ambassador to Burkina Faso, Apollinaire Joachimson Kyelem de Tambela said joining BRICS would help “counter the domination of the dollar and the euro” to achieve “more equitable international trade.”

The two discussed preparations for the Burkina Faso Economic Days Abroad set to be held in Russia next month, according to a statement by his office.

The prime minister said Burkina Faso “shares the same political vision” as Russia, as they have strategic partnerships on several levels, including in diplomacy, military, and the economy.

BRICS, founded in 2009, took its acronym from the first letters of the member countries’ names: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Several new countries joined last December, but the group decided to retain its established name.

This January Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger withdrew from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) regional bloc, which had threatened to intervene militarily in Niger following a coup there last July.

Separately, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent a message to Mali’s President Assimi Goita.

Jon Tong Chol, the North Korean envoy, met Mali's Charge d'Affaires Mahamane Ousmane in Nigeria last week to convey the message.

Ousmane and Jon reviewed areas of cooperation between Mali and North Korea, including agriculture and health.

Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger formed the Alliance of Sahel States last September and later announced the creation of a joint military force to counter spiraling security challenges posed in their countries by terrorist groups.

Three junta-ruled nations, with a combined population of 72 million, are affected by instability caused by militant groups.

This July, the leaders of the three military regimes held their first joint summit in Niger’s capital Niamey, where they announced the confederation of Sahel states.

​​​​​​​*Writing by Riyaz ul Khaliq