Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger Seek Access to Sea via Morocco

Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger are now seeking access to the sea through Morocco. The countries, which have formed a confederation called the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), are landlocked and have been pursuing port access since breaking ties with the Western-backed Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) last year.

According to Morocco’s state news agency, the foreign ministers of the AES states have expressed support for a Morocco-led initiative to provide them access to Moroccan ports and global trade routes.

The governments of the AES countries—each of which came to power through coups between 2021 and 2023—have expelled French and Western militaries from their territories, turning instead to Russia amid ongoing civil wars against Al-Qaeda-backed insurgents. They have also moved to assert greater control over natural resources historically dominated by Western companies.

The Moroccan initiative was unveiled in 2023, but AES support for it comes now amid rising tensions with Algeria, a regional rival of Morocco. AES states severed ties with Algeria after the Algerian military shot down a Malian drone near the Mali-Algeria border on April 1, accusing it of violating Algerian airspace. Mali, however, claimed the drone was operating against rebels in the border region.

Diplomatic relations between Algiers and the AES collapsed soon after, with Algeria and Mali halting flights between their countries.

Algeria's relations with Morocco are also strained. In 2021, Algeria broke off diplomatic ties with Rabat and has since supported the Polisario Front, a rebel group seeking independence for Western Sahara, of which Morocco currently controls about 80%.

Securing access to a port would allow AES to deepen its shift away from West Africa at a time of rapidly changing power balances and alliances in the region.