Sweden will close its embassies in Burkina and Mali and deploy to Senegal

Ouagadougou: The Kingdom of Sweden intends to close its diplomatic representations in Burkina Faso and Mali before the end of 2024 and wishes to open another, in 2025, in Senegal, due to 'a strategic review' of its presence in West Africa, the AIB learned on Monday.'The Swedish government took the decision on June 20, 2024 to close the Swedish embassies in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) and Bamako (Mali). The closure of the two embassies should be completed by the end of the current year,' the Swedish embassy in Ouagadougou responded in an email to the AIB on Monday.According to the same source, 'this decision is the consequence of a strategic review of Sweden's diplomatic presence in West Africa'.'Sweden believes that, in order to better address cross-border challenges in terms of development and security, its commitment to the Sahel and West Africa must now be characterized by a more assertive regional approach,' we still read in the e-mail.'In order to maintain effective and visible engagement in the S ahel and strengthen Sweden's involvement in West Africa, the government intends to establish an embassy in Dakar (Senegal) with a broad geographical and thematic mandate . Sweden is currently holding discussions with Senegal on the conditions of this opening and hopes that it will take place in 2025,' added the embassy in its note.However, Sweden says it wants to maintain its long-standing bilateral relations with Burkina Faso and Mali.As a reminder, Burkina Faso, under the leadership of Captain Ibrahim Traoré, has opted for diplomacy open to all countries that respect its sovereignty and in a win-win spirit in all areas of cooperation.On June 28, 2024, ten new ambassadors from Germany, Russia, the United States of America, Algeria, Venezuela, Rwanda, the Kingdom of Spain, Guinea-Bissau, of Poland and Pakistan, presented their credentials to the President of Faso.Source: Burkina Information Agency