Tiani assures Goïta rapprochement with Algeria supports AES
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on La Nouvelle Tribune
Malian President Assimi Goïta travelled to Niamey and then Ouagadougou on 5 November 2026 to meet AES partners. According to RFI, General Abdourahamane Tiani assured him that Niger's rapprochement with Algeria was not against the alliance.
Niger President General Abdourahamane Tiani reportedly assured his Malian counterpart Assimi Goïta that the rapprochement between Niamey and Algiers was not against the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), an alliance of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, according to RFI on 6 November. Goïta travelled to Niamey and then Ouagadougou on 5 November as part of a tour of AES partners.
The rapprochement between Niger and Algeria strengthened in 2026 after the resumption of diplomatic relations, notably with Tiani's visit to Algiers on 15 and 16 February. Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune then announced that work on the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline crossing Niger would resume after Ramadan and said that Niger's security was Algeria's security.
In August, four Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets were delivered to Niamey after the attempted coup of 28 and 29 August. The Algerian Parliament subsequently approved, on 25 October, the deployment of People's National Army units to Niger to protect shared energy and economic interests, according to La Nouvelle Tribune.
The meeting between Tiani and Goïta comes after the meeting between Assimi Goïta and Abdourahamane Tiani in Niamey, published on 7 November, as Goïta continued his visit to Burkina Faso.
