Mali’s Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop said that the countries of the Sahel Alliance of States are hoping for Russian support in developing the military industrial complex (MIC) to strengthen their independence and security in the region.
“We are already working with Russia on several projects. Whether in the security, diplomacy or economic spheres, our countries want to strengthen their capabilities and develop autonomy so that we can move away from dependency models,” Abdoulaye Diop told RIA Novosti.
The head of Mali’s Foreign Ministry emphasised that the need for the purchase of Russian military products for the Sahel states is steadily growing.
“We will try to guarantee that with a Russian partner who has technology and proven experience, together with Russian companies and the Russian state, we will also be able to create military capacities, military industry in the Sahel region,” the head of the Malian foreign ministry stated.
The diplomat noted that the development of the Sahel states’ military-industrial complex with Russia’s assistance will reduce the dependence of African countries on imports of Western military equipment. At the same time, he said, it will create jobs and strengthen “the vision of moving towards industrialisation of our countries and structural transformation of our economies”.
Earlier, Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop said that Ukraine was a terrorist state that actively supports bandit groups in the Sahel region.
