Algeria’s prime minister, Sifi Grine, arrived in Bamako this Monday for an official visit, standing shoulder to shoulder with the military leader, General Assimi Goïta. The encounter was packaged as a decisive step toward warming ties between two Sahelian neighbours, yet the choreography of handshakes and ceremonial smiles struggles to conceal a far more tangled diplomatic story. Beneath the surface, memories of bitter disputes and the ghost of the 2015 Algiers Accord still weigh heavily on a relationship that has hit rock bottom.
A handshake meant to reset the narrative
The setting was designed to look reassuring, even historic. Inside the halls of the Koulouba palace, Algeria’s prime minister, Sifi Grine, met with the head of Mali’s military government, General Assimi Goïta. The agenda covered tightening bilateral cooperation, joint security efforts and reviving economic exchanges across a Sahel region under intense pressure.
For Algiers, the trip signals a clear ambition to regain influence in its southern backyard. For Bamako, parading high-level diplomatic backing offers a way out of growing international isolation. Yet this carefully staged display of unity leaves seasoned observers unconvinced.
The weight of Bamako’s past accusations
This sudden burst of brotherly warmth follows months of an unusually severe diplomatic crisis. Not long ago, Mali’s ruling military government was piling harsh criticism on Algiers. In a sovereigntist one-upmanship that became its trademark, Bamako openly accused its northern neighbour of meddling in its internal affairs.
Among the grievances Bamako hammered home were Algeria’s hosting of Malian opposition figures and influential religious leaders, and above all the alleged support given to northern separatist rebel groups. By accusing Algiers of harbouring “hostile acts” under the cover of peace intermediaries, the junta sought to point to an external scapegoat to justify the security deadlock and the deteriorating situation on the ground.
A forced alliance shaped by geopolitical realities
The rapprochement celebrated this Monday looks less like a sincere, lasting partnership and more like a marriage of convenience under duress. Bamako, having abruptly severed ties with its traditional Western partners and entangled in uncertain regional alliances, is desperately trying to diversify its diplomatic support.
Algiers, for its part, cannot tolerate a permanent source of instability along its southern border, where terrorist networks and cross-border trafficking thrive. The face-to-face between Sifi Grine and Assimi Goïta is therefore a matter of hard pragmatism: save appearances to avoid the point of no return, without erasing the deep mutual resentments that undermine trust between the two governments.
The long shadow of the Algiers Accord: Algeria’s bargaining power
In this quiet tug-of-war, Algeria retains an undeniable strategic advantage. Long seen as the security keystone and indispensable mediator in the Sahel, it dictated the region’s peace agenda for years, notably through the 2015 Algiers Accord.
By unilaterally denouncing that agreement in early 2024, Assimi Goïta’s junta believed it was asserting its authority and sweeping away any external tutelage. But reality on the ground proved very different. Abandoning the Algerian negotiation framework neither restored peace in northern Mali nor eradicated the security threat. By travelling to Bamako today to impose its terms and re-engage dialogue, the Algerian government demonstrates its political centrality: Bamako may try to ignore Algerian diplomacy, but it always ends up having to deal with it.
The limits of military diplomacy
While this ceremonial visit offers General Assimi Goïta a welcome media breather, it resolves none of the underlying problems. Mali’s junta continues to base its power on security rhetoric while indefinitely postponing a return to democratic constitutional order.
Without a genuine commitment to domestic political stability and a sincere regard for regional balances, the promises made during this meeting risk remaining pure public relations. Behind the diplomats’ smiles and the crisp uniforms, the relationship between Bamako and Algiers remains a minefield where each side waits for the other to stumble.
