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Rabat – Morocco has joined a high-level delegation within the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF) responsible for supporting the civil transition process in post-coup Mali.
Morocco’s appointment to the delegation is a recognition of the country’s commitment to peace and stability in Mali during the transition period.
The OIF Mail monitoring delegation came within the resolution the Permanent Council of La Francophonie (CPF) adopted on August 25 during its 111th extraordinary session. The purpose of the delegation is to support the process of restoring democratic institutions in Mali and finding durable and credible solutions that meet the expectations of Malians.
The OIF delegation is set to closely coordinate with international partners — primarily ECOWAS and the African Union — to support the civil transition process in Mali.
Leading the delegation as Special Envoy is Senegal’s former Minister of State and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cheikh Tidiane Gadio.
Also in the delegation is Nadia El Yousfi, a member of the Brussels Parliament and the Parliament of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. El Yousfi is a member of the Bureau of the Parliamentary Affairs Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie (APF).
Morocco’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Moha Ouali Tagma, will represent the country in the OIF delegation. Tagma received his appointment from OIF’s Secretary-General, Louise Mushikiwabo.
A career diplomat for nearly 40 years, Tagma has service in Senegal, Poland, and Nigeria under his belt.
Tagma served as Morocco’s ambassador to Dakar, as well as to Warsaw. He was also a member of the Permanent Mission of Morocco to the UN in Geneva. He stepped into his current role as ambassador to Abuja in 2016 after concluding his term as the director of African Affairs at Morocco’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Developments in post-coup Mali
In a bloodless coup, Mali’s military overthrew President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita on August 18. Vowing to not hold onto power, the junta established a council to find a civilian president.
On Monday, Mali’s transitional military government appointed former Defense Minister Ba N’Daou as the new interim president. Colonel Assimi Goita, one of the coup leaders, will assume the vice presidency.
Goita filled in as Mali’s leader in the transition period after the coup. He received Morocco’s Ambassador to Mali, Hassan Naciri, on August 26.
During the meeting, Goita expressed his “deep gratitude” for King Mohammed VI and Morocco’s crisis resolution efforts. He added that the Moroccan ambassador was the first diplomat to make contact with Mali’s new leaders on August 20, “welcoming the centuries-old relations and the fruitful partnership that bind the two brotherly countries.”
Goita relayed to Naciri his confidence in the measures taken to calm the political storm, assuring that “the political transition will be discussed between the different components of the Malian society.”
Prior to the meeting, on August 19, Morocco’s foreign ministry said it trusts its “Malian brothers” to “draw on the values of peace and national harmony rooted in them” in the aftermath of the coup, stressing that Morocco remains fully committed to the “serenity and stability of Mali.”
