Morocco Calls on All Parties in Mali to Prioritize National Interests

Rabat – Morocco calls on all parties in Mali to work towards stability, tranquility, and the aspirations of the Malian people. The Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs released the statement on Wednesday, August 19, following the resignation of Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. Developments in Mali moved rapidly on August 18, when a small mutiny broke out in an army camp close to the capital Bamako.

The Malian army has announced it is not interested in retaining power and intends to organize new elections shortly. Moroccan diplomats have been following developments around social and political tensions in Mali for weeks. The Moroccan foreign office called for a “peaceful civil transition, allowing a rapid and supervised return to constitutional order” in today’s statement.

The Moroccan foreign ministry added that it had full confidence in its “Malian brothers” to be able to “show a sense of responsibility and draw on the values of peace and national harmony rooted in them.” The statement concluded that the Kingdom of Morocco remains fully committed to the “serenity and stability of Mali.”

Morocco and Mali are close partners on issues such as regional peace and security and work together on climate change and migration issues. “The Kingdom of Morocco constitutes, despite the absence of physical borders with Mali, a neighbor country with which Mali maintains multiple relations,” according to a June 9 statement by Moussa Timbineto, the President of the National Assembly of Mali who military officers arrested yesterday.

Separate from Morocco-Mali relations, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ office released a statement on August 18 “demanding” the release of Ibrahim Keita. The statement said that “the Secretary-General strongly condemns these actions and calls for the immediate restoration of constitutional order and rule of law in Mali,” adding that Guterres “demands the immediate and unconditional release of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and members of his cabinet.”