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Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko has begun an official visit to Burkina Faso, where he was warmly received by the country’s transitional President, Captain Ibrahim Traoré. The visit underscores a growing effort to reinforce diplomatic and security cooperation between the two West African nations.
According to the Senegalese Press Agency (APS), Sonko arrived in Ouagadougou alongside senior officials, including Senegal’s Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense. During the visit, Sonko held discussions with his Burkinabè counterpart, Jean-Emmanuel Ouédraogo, before meeting with President Traoré at the presidential palace.
APS reported that the trip aims to provide “political and moral support” to Burkina Faso’s junta government. President Traoré has been leading a transitional administration since seizing power in a 2022 military coup. His government continues to battle escalating attacks by armed groups, including those linked to Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an Al-Qaeda-affiliated coalition operating across the Sahel.
The meeting between the two leaders is also seen as a response to what the junta described as “attempts at external destabilisation,” particularly pointing fingers at neighbouring Côte d’Ivoire. Given the shared challenges posed by jihadist insurgencies across the Sahel, both sides are expected to deepen their security collaboration.
This visit marks Prime Minister Sonko’s second diplomatic outreach to a member state of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), following his trip to Mali in August 2024. The AES bloc—which includes Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger—was established as a strategic alliance in response to mounting tensions with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), of which Senegal remains a member.
Sonko’s visit signals Dakar’s nuanced approach to diplomacy in the region, maintaining open dialogue with AES states despite differing stances within regional blocs.
