Algerian Prime Minister Sifi Grine arrived in Bamako this Monday for an official visit, standing shoulder to shoulder with the military leader of the Malian junta, General Assimi Goïta. The encounter was staged as a major step forward in warming ties between the two Sahelian neighbours, yet the ceremonial display cannot mask a far more tangled diplomatic reality. Beneath the handshakes and carefully worded statements, the legacy of past friction and the ghost of the Algiers Accord continue to weigh on a relationship that had sunk to its lowest point.

A symbolic gesture aimed at repairing the damage

The scene was designed to look historic and reassuring. Inside the Koulouba presidential palace on Monday, Algerian Prime Minister Sifi Grine met with the head of Mali’s military authorities, General Assimi Goïta. On the agenda: tightening bilateral ties, security cooperation, and reviving economic exchanges across a Sahel region under intense pressure.

For Algiers, the trip forms part of a clear ambition to regain influence in its southern backyard. For Bamako, parading high-level diplomatic backing offers a way out of growing international isolation. Yet this picture of unity struggles to persuade seasoned observers.

The heavy baggage of Bamako’s past accusations

This sudden burst of fraternity comes after months of an exceptionally bitter diplomatic crisis. Not long ago, the military leadership in Bamako was piling up sharp criticism against Algiers. In a sovereigntist one-upmanship that became its trademark, the Malian military openly accused its northern neighbour of meddling in its internal affairs.

Among Bamako’s repeated grievances were Algeria’s hosting of Malian opposition figures and influential religious actors, and above all the alleged support given to northern separatist rebel groups. By accusing Algiers of harbouring “hostile acts” under the guise of peace intermediaries, the junta sought to point to an external scapegoat to justify the security deadlock and the deteriorating situation on the ground.

A marriage of convenience against geopolitical realities

The rapprochement celebrated on Monday looks more like a forced marriage of reason than a sincere and lasting alliance. Bamako, having abruptly broken with its traditional Western partners and entangled in uncertain regional alliances, is desperately seeking to diversify its diplomatic support.

Algiers, for its part, cannot tolerate a permanent source of instability on its southern border, where terrorist networks and cross-border trafficking tend to flourish. This face-to-face between Sifi Grine and Assimi Goïta is therefore driven by hard pragmatism: saving appearances to avoid the point of no return, without erasing the deep mutual resentments that undermine trust between the two governments.

The long shadow of the Algiers Accord: Algeria’s bargaining power

In this quiet tug-of-war, Algeria retains an undeniable strategic advantage. Long viewed as the security linchpin and indispensable mediator in the Sahel, it dictated the peace agenda for years, notably through the 2015 Algiers Accord.

By unilaterally denouncing that agreement in early 2024, Assimi Goïta’s junta believed it was asserting its authority and sweeping away any external oversight. But reality on the ground proved very different. Abandoning the Algerian negotiation framework neither restored peace in northern Mali nor eliminated the security threat. By now travelling to Bamako to impose its terms and re-engage dialogue, the Algerian government demonstrates its political centrality: Bamako may try to ignore Algerian diplomacy, but it always ends up having to deal with it.

The limits of a military-driven diplomacy

While this protocol visit offers General Assimi Goïta a welcome media breather, it resolves none of the underlying problems. The Malian junta continues to base its power on security rhetoric while indefinitely postponing a return to democratic constitutional order.

Without a genuine commitment to internal political stability and a sincere consideration of regional balances, the promises made during this meeting risk remaining pure communication. Behind the diplomats’ smiles and the crisp uniforms, the relationship between Bamako and Algiers remains a minefield where each side waits for the other to stumble.