Mali and Algeria have confirmed the full restoration of their diplomatic relations with the return of their ambassadors and the reciprocal reopening of their airspace, ending more than a year of friction originating from the downing of a Malian drone by the Algerian Army in 2025, in a context of opposing versions on which side of the border the incident occurred.
This thaw, considered key to the stability of the Sahel, has been finalized after a telephone conversation held on Friday between the president of the transition and head of the military junta of Mali, Assimi Goita, and the Algerian president, Abdelmadjid Tebboune.
Following the call, Tebboune ordered his ambassador Kamal Ratib to return to Bamako, after he was recalled to Algiers on April 7, 2025, in the wake of the bilateral crisis.
According to the official Algerian agency APS, the measure responds to the president's "constant and unwavering commitment" to restoring "Algerian-Malian relations back to their historical and natural course (...) which serves the interests of the two countries and the two brotherly peoples, as well as all countries in the Sahel region and the entire African continent."
Almost simultaneously, the government spokesman of Mali, General Issa Ousmane Coulibaly, announced the return of his ambassador to Algiers and "the reopening of national airspace to all civilian and military aircraft operating flights originating from or destined for the Algerian Republic."
The Malian representative explained that the conversation between both heads of state "took place in a warm and cordial atmosphere" and reiterated the commitment of both parties to "strengthen relations between Mali and Algeria within the framework of peace and respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity."