Madar (Bamako) - Mali's transitional president, Assimi Goita, on Monday, November 9, 2026, received Senegal's Minister of African Integration and Foreign Affairs, Cheikh Niang, at Koulouba Palace in Bamako, carrying a message from President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, according to the African Press Agency (APA), citing the Malian presidency.
The talks covered bilateral cooperation, African integration and the regional situation, and were attended by Minister of State for the Economy and Finance Alousseni Sanou, Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop and several aides to the head of state, the same source said.
After the audience, Niang said he had conveyed a message of friendship and fraternity from President Faye, together with a desire to consolidate relations between the two countries. He stressed the historical, cultural and human ties between Mali and Senegal, recalling the Mali Federation, which briefly united the two territories at independence.
The Senegalese minister spoke of a convergence of views and approaches between Bamako and Dakar on several issues of common interest, without detailing any initiatives that might follow, and said the regional security situation was discussed briefly. Goita asked his guest to convey his greetings and thanks to President Faye, reaffirming the importance of relations between the two countries, according to APA.
The audience comes three days after Niang's visit to Niamey, where he was received on Friday, November 6, by Nigerien Prime Minister Ali Mahamane Lamine Zeine, carrying a message from Faye to President Abdourahamane Tiani, as Senegal holds the rotating chairmanship of ECOWAS.
