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Mali is prioritizing technology transfer in its defense cooperation with Türkiye and wants Turkish companies to work with it in energy, agriculture and health, Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop said.
"We want to acquire advanced technology and equipment, but we also want technology transfer. We want to work with partners like Türkiye to develop our own capacity," Diop told Türkiye's state-run Anadolu Agency (AA) on the sidelines of BAMEX 2026, a defense fair organized by Mali’s Defense Ministry and Turkish company The Peak Defense.
Under transitional President Assimi Goita, Mali has made clear choices on equipping its defense and security forces, technology transfer and developing a defense industry, Diop said, describing defense and security as a top priority for African countries.
Diop said Mali wants to gradually move away from partnerships that create dependency, and hopes new partnerships will help Mali and other African countries ensure their own security and reduce reliance on outside actors over time.
"Today, our goal is to go beyond the military field and develop economic, commercial and industrial cooperation with Türkiye based on mutual benefit. We want Turkish companies to come to Mali and work with us in every field, especially energy, agriculture and health," he said.
The cooperation should help transform Mali’s economy and build its capacity, with goals including higher trade volume, technology transfer and joint work between the two countries’ businesspeople, Diop said.
He welcomed President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s and Türkiye’s openness to meeting Mali’s equipment requests, and the strong participation of Turkish defense firms in the fair’s first edition last year.
"Türkiye stood by us despite all the difficulties of this period. We appreciate this solidarity and want our cooperation with Türkiye to grow stronger," he said.
Diop expressed regret over Turkish Airlines’ temporary suspension of flights to Bamako, saying air links play an important role in strengthening cooperation, and hoped decisions to resume them would be taken soon.
BAMEX’s second edition showed progress in both the number and quality of participants, with many new countries joining and broad attendance at minister and deputy minister levels, Diop said. Russia, China, Türkiye, numerous African countries and the United States were among participants this year, he said.
"We worked hard for the first BAMEX to succeed. The second fair demonstrated our determination and resilience. Many of those who approached the first fair with skepticism have now started coming," Diop said, describing the turnout as a message to those seeking an embargo on Mali.
"These threats, pressures, sanctions, even disinformation have no effect. They have no effect because Mali is working in line with the goals it has set. Now we want to step by step move away from partnerships that leave us dependent," he said.
"The presence of many countries from every continent here shows that the environment we have created has gained the trust needed to build new partnerships," he added.
He said he hopes BAMEX will become one of Africa’s main defense and security gatherings.
Diop said foreign ministers of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) recently met in Dakar to work toward a framework agreement governing relations between the two blocs.
"In these negotiations, our priority is not to return to ECOWAS. Our priority is for two sovereign entities to coexist and cooperate in a way that protects the interests of our peoples," he said, citing the free movement of people and goods as a priority, with security cooperation possibly discussed later.
The two blocs can work together on regional issues and on shared diplomatic interests at the African Union and the United Nations, Diop said.
"ECOWAS and AES will each continue on their own path. Both are open to cooperation, dialogue and consultation," he said, as Mali pursues technology transfer with Türkiye.
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