EMBASSY OF INDIA

BAMAKO, MALI

Embassy of India
Bamako
Brief on India - Mali relations

Political Relations: 

India and Mali have traditionally maintained friendly relations based on shared values, mutual trust and goodwill. The two countries do not have any geo-political conflicts. The Government of India established its Embassy in Bamako in May 2009. Mali followed soon by opening its Embassy in New Delhi in August 2009. During the political and security crisis in Mali and consequent upon a military coup in March 2012, India strongly supported efforts for restoration of constitutional order in Mali and preservation of its unity and territorial integrity. India also contributed US$ 1 million for strengthening of Malian forces at the Donors Conference held in Addis Ababa. After the restoration of democratic order since September 2013, Government of India, while welcoming the development, reiterated its willingness to further strengthen its development cooperation partnership with Mali. India has consistently opposed colonialism and liberally extended developmental assistance under various schemes to Mali over the years. Mali too has been supportive of India on various international issues. The Government of Mali acknowledges India’s contribution and looks forward to further strengthening its relationship with India. Both the countries recognize terrorism as a grave threat to peace and prosperity and agree to cooperate at bilateral, regional and multilateral level to combat this menace.

Visit from Mali: 

The then president of Mali, Prof. Alpha Oumar Konare, paid a state visit to India on 28-30 August 1995. Being the first democratically elected  president of Mali to visit India, this visit opened a new chapter in the bilateral relations. Subsequently in December 2006, his visit to India in his capacity as the Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union had laid the foundation for India-Africa engagement under the framework of India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS).   

In January 2012, the then president of Mali, Mr. Amadou Toumani Touré, paid a state visit to India. President Touré was accompanied by First Lady Madame Toure Lobbo Traore and a high-level Ministerial and business delegation. India and Mali signed a MoU on Cooperation in the Field of Geology and Mineral Resources during the visit. 

3rd IAFS Participation: 

The then President of Mali Mr. Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta visited India to participate in the 3rd India-Africa Forum Summit at New Delhi, in October 2015. President Keita was accompanied by a high-level delegation, including Foreign Minister Mr. Abdoulaye Diop, other Ministers and senior officials.

The then First Lady of Mali, Madame Aminata Maïga Keïta visited India in August 2015 to attend the Global ‘Call to Action Summit 2015. She also briefly met Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi during her visit.

International Solar Alliance (ISA): 

Mali signed and ratified the International Solar Alliance Framework Agreement on 2 October 2017. At the joint invitation of Prime Minister Modi and French President Macron, President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta visited India in March 2018 to participate in the Founding Conference of International Solar Alliance (ISA) at New Delhi. President Keita was accompanied by a high-level delegation. 

Participation in CII-EXIM bank conclave on India Africa Project Partnership: 

Mali participated in both the CII Conclaves in India in March and November 2005. In March 2005, the delegation was led by Minister for Promotion of Investment and SMEs Mr. Ousmane Thiam, while in November 2005, the delegation was led by the Technical Adviser in the Ministry for Promotion of Investments and SMEs, Mr. Madani Traore. Malian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Moctar Ouane participated in the CII conclave in Accra in May 2006. During the same visit, he had also participated in the TEAM-9 Ministerial Meeting in Accra. The then Minister of Investment Promotion and Private Sector of Mali, Mr. Konimba Sidibe, visited New Delhi to participate in the 12th CII Exim Bank Conclave on India-Africa Project Partnership in March 2017. Mali’s Minister for Equipment, Madam Traore Seynabou Diop, participated in the 14th edition of the CII conclave in March 2019. 

Other Ministerial Visits: 

• Malian Minister of Rural Development and the Minister for Industry visited India in March 1996 to see India’s capabilities in the small-scale sector.

• The Malian Finance Minister and the Minister of Environment attended the first Assembly Meeting of the Global Environmental Facility held in New Delhi from April 1-3, 1998. 

• Mali accepted the invitation to attend the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Indian Parliament from 21-25 January 2003. The Malian delegation was led by the President of the National Assembly of Mali Mr. Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.

• The then Malian foreign Minister Mr. Lassana Traore visited India from 1-2 March 2004 to participate in the inaugural meeting of TEAM-9. 

• The then Minister for Foreign Affairs and International cooperation of Mali, Mr. Moctar Ouane, visited India from 8-13 October 2009. A Protocol on Foreign Office Consultations and an Agreement on Political, Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural cooperation between India and Mali were signed during the visit. 

Other Visits: 

• A three member delegation of National Assembly of Mali headed by Parliamentarian and President of the High Court of Justice of Mali, Mr. Abderhamane Niang, called on the then Vice-President of India and Chairman, Rajya Sabha, Mr. M. Venkaiah Naidu at Parliament House on 21 December 2017. The Malian delegation also included Members of Parliament of Mali, Mr. Ousmane Kouyate and Mr. Youssouf Aya. 

• The then Secretary General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Mali Mr. Boubacar Gouro Diall, led an official delegation to India for the 1st India-Mali Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) in New Delhi held on 4 November 2019. 

• In October 2022, Major General Sidiki Samake visited India to participate in the Defence Expo 2022 in Gujarat. He had met India’s Defence Secretary Shri Ajay Kumar on the sidelines. 

• A two member Malian defense delegation consisting of Col. Mamadou Samake and Col. Moussa Goita participated in the inaugural Conclave of Chiefs of Armies of African Nations and the second edition of the Africa India Field Training Exercise (AFINDEX-2023) at Pune from 27-30 March 2023. 

• Recently, a four member defence delegation led by Major General Sidiki Samake, Secretary General, Ministry of Defence and Veteran Affairs visited Bengaluru to participate in the Aero India 2025 from 09-13 February 2025. He had met RM Shri Rajnath Singh on the sidelines of the event. 

Visits from India:

• Hon’ble Vice President of India, Shri Hamid Ansari (HVPI), accompanied by Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs and three Members of Parliament, paid a high level visit from India to Mali on 29 – 30 September 2016. During the visit, HVPI called on President of Mali, had restricted and delegation level meetings with the Prime Minister of Mali, addressed the National Assembly and interacted with the Indian community in Bamako.

Ministerial-level visits

• Minister of State, Shri Anand Sharma visited Bamako on 15th November 2007 to participate in the 4th Ministerial meeting of the Community of the Democracies. During the visit he attended the inaugural session of the Ministerial meeting, held a bilateral meeting with Foreign Minister Mr. Moctor Ouane, and attended an official reception hosted by President Mr. Amadou Toumani Toure. During the reception MoS Shri Anand Sharma had a brief one on one meeting with the President of Mali. This is first Ministerial visit from India to Mali. Mali was the chair of the convening group of the Community of Democracies from May 2005 – November 2007.

• The then Minister of State for Steel and Mines, Shri Vishnu Deo Sai, visited Bamako as Special Envoy of Prime Minister of India to hand over the invitation for 3rd India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS-III) to the President of Mali in 2015. 

• The then Minister of State for External Affairs Shri M.J. Akbar, visited Mali from March 2-3, 2017 for the first ever Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) between the two countries. During the visit, he co-chaired the 1st India-Mali JCM with H.E. Mr. Abdoulaye Diop, the Foreign Minister of Mali.

Other high level engagements: 

• A delegation led by Secretary (West) visited Bamako on 29-30 June 2006 to participate in public handing over of 300 tractors and agricultural implements including threshers, harrows etc., locally assembled in Bamako under the US$ 12 million Line of Credit (LoC) to Mali under Team-9 initiative. The ceremony was graced by the President of Mali, the Prime Minister along with entire cabinet and was attended by five thousand people. During the visit, Secretary (West) had called on President Amadou Toumani Traore and Foreign Minister Mr. Moctar Ouane.

• On 25 April 2020, Hon’ble External Affairs Minister of India Dr. S. Jaishankar and the then Foreign Minister of Mali Mr. Tiébilé Dramé held telephonic conversation to discuss various aspects of bilateral relations, including India’s support to Mali during the COVID-19 pandemic. Subsequently, Government of India donated 5871.7 Kgs of life saving medicines to the Republic of Mali in two consignments on 19th May 2020 and 10th June 2020. First batch of the medicines were received by the Minister of Health & Social Affairs of Mali, Mr. Michel Sidibe, on 19 May 2020. A second batch of life-saving medicines were handed over to  Secretary General of the Ministry of Health & Social Affairs of Mali, Dr. Mama Coumaré, on 10 June 2020. Apart from this, the Government of India also supplied 396,000 units of Covid-19 vaccines to the Republic of Mali under COVAX facility on 3rd March 2021.

Bilateral agreements:

• Protocol on Foreign Office Consultations (October 2009)

• Agreement on Political, Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation (October 2009)

• MOU on Cooperation in Geology and Mineral Resources (January 2012)

• Cultural Exchange Programme (September 2016)

• MOU on Standards between the Bureau of Indian Standards and Direction Nationale De Industries, Mali (September 2016)

• MoU between Republic of Mali and Telecommunications Consultants India Limited [TCIL] for Mali’s participation in e-VidyaBharati and e-AarogyaBharati (e-VBAB) Network Project of Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India (November 2019)

Economic and commercial relations:

India is among the top trading partners of Mali. Mali is a least developed country (LDC), heavily reliant on external aid. Therefore, India has extended Duty Free Tariff Preference (DFTP) Scheme to Mali providing duty free/preferential market access on about 98.2% of India’s tariff lines (at HS 6-digit level of classification). According to the available statistics, total bilateral trade between the two countries for the last five years is as follows:

Figures in USD Million

Source: Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India

Development partnership: 

India has been a close development partner of Mali. India extends development assistance to Mali in the form of concessional Line of Credit (LoC), grant assistance and capacity building training under the framework of Indian Technical and Economic cooperation (ITEC) scheme. India and Mali are founding members of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and India has also been extending assistance to Mail under the framework of ISA.

Lines of credit: 

India has extended seven Lines of Credit (LOCs) worth around  US$ 303.6 million to Mali for various projects. The projects implemented/signed/approved are: (i) Rural electrification and setting up of agro machinery and tractor assembly plant in Mali in 2005; (ii) Acquisition of railway coaches and locomotives from India in 2005; (iii) Electricity transmission and distribution project from Ivory Coast to Mali in 2007; (iv) a second Electricity transmission and distribution project from Ivory Coast to Mali in 2007; (v) Mali-Ivory Coast interconnection link or integrating the national power grids of the two countries in 2009; (vi) Agriculture and food processing projects in 2009; and (vii) Power transmission project connecting Bamako and Sikasso via Bougouni in 2011. 

Among the seven LoC projects referred above, six have been successfully implemented. The US$ 150 million power transmission project connecting Bamako and Sikasso via Bougouni is currently under implementation. The project involves (i) turnkey construction of 225 kV double circuit transmission line between Bamako and Sikasso via Bougouni (395 Kms), (ii) Construction/extension of five power substations in Sikasso, Bougouni, Sanankoroba, Kodialani and Dialakorobogou, and (iii) Providing electric connectivity to seven localities along Sikasso-Bamako. The US$ 150 million LOC allocated for this project is extended both bilaterally (US$100 million) and through the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) (US$ 50 million). This project is in its final stages and is expected to be completed soon. 

LOC extended under International Solar Alliance: 

During ISA Founding Conference held in New Delhi in March 2018, three solar projects were selected for financing under LOC - two on bilateral basis and one through EBID. These are as follows:

1. Setting up a sustainable village and use of solar photo voltaic technology for irrigation of 2500 ha of agricultural land at the value of US$ 22 million

2. Construction of a 50 MW Solar Photo-Voltaic Power Plant in Fana at the value of US$ 60.65 million

3. Construction of 2 MW Solar Photovoltaic plants in Mopti (EBID) - US$ 8 million

The LOC for projects at S.No. 1 & 2 offered by the GoI is under consideration by the Government of Mali.

Grant assistance: 

From time to time, India has also been extending grant assistance to Mali in the form of equipment, medical devises, assistance for revival of world heritage sites etc., as explained below:   

• Cash assistance of US$500,000 towards revival of world heritage site of Timbuktu - this was announced during the visit of Hon'ble Vice President of India to Mali on September 29-30 2015. The donation cheque was handed over to the Minister of Culture of Mali on 2 March 2017 by Shri M.J. Akbar, Hon'ble Minister of State for External Affairs during his visit to Mali.

• Gifting of IT Equipment to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MOFA) of Mali worth CFA 10,036,500 - this was announced during the visit of Hon'ble Vice President of India to Mali on September 29-30, 2015. These equipment were handed over to MOFA on 14 April 2017. 

• Grant assistance of CFA 8,772,251 for procurement of scanning equipment for digitization of documents of the African House of Photography, Bamako under the aegis of Ministry of Culture, Government of Mali. The equipment was handed over to the Government of Mali in November 2020. 

• Grant assistance of CFA 2,806,500 for procurement of basic equipment in the field of obstetrics for a newly built Community Health Centre in Missirikoro, Sikasso, Mali. Equipment was handed over in December 2020. 

Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Programme: 

India offers training in human resource development to Mali under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme. Initially 60 ITEC slots were offered to Mali, which were subsequently enhanced to 70 slots. About 306 officials and Malian nationals from private sector have been trained under the ITEC during the last 8 years. 

Mali has been availing training slots for defence personnel under the ITEC programme. In recent times several Malian police officers have availed ITEC slots in the field of Cyber security, Drug Law Enforcement, Investigation of Anti-Corruption cases including procurement and contract frauds etc. 

Cultural relations: 

Mali is an old civilizational country of North Western Africa. It has a rich culture and heritage. The Bambara, and Dogon farmers, nomadic Tuareg, Fulani, Bozo fishers, and each of Mali’s dozens of ethnic groups have their own unique languages and history. These tribes have a vibrant lifestyle very similar to the tribes in India. Malian music and literature have been heavily influenced by the traditional oral storytelling. Malian music is much celebrated throughout the world. Traditional storytellers called griots are called to perform at weddings and other events. The northern parts of Mali (Timbaktu, Gao and Kidal) are very popular tourist centers but the access has now been restricted due to the jihadists attacks since 2012.

Scholarships offered by Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR):

Under ICCR-Africa Scholarship Scheme, now re-named as India-Africa Maitri Scholarship Scheme, 15 slots have been offered to Malian nationals for the FY 2025-26 for pursuing undergraduate/Post graduate/Ph.D., programmes in arts, basic sciences, engineering and other technical fields. ICCR scholarships are very popular and attract large number of Malian students leading to full utilization of the slots allocated to Mali.  

Other Scholarships offered:

1. Under various initiatives of the India-Africa Forum Summits

2. Agricultural scholarships administered through the African Union (AU)

3. C. V. Raman Fellowship Scheme: 8 slots offered to Mali, 2 have already been availed

4. Two Malian military officers participated in the training programme conducted by the Centre for UN Peacekeeping in Delhi (2012)

5. Malian Army had been offered 2 slots in the army training institutes at Non Commissioned Officers Academy (NCO Binaguri) and 1 slot in Junior Leaders Academy (JLA Bareilly) for the year 2020-21

e-VidyaBharati and e-AarogyaBharati (e-VBAB) project: 

Mali has been offered the e-VidyaBharati and e-AarogyaBharati (e-VBAB) Network Project to provide free tele-education courses in various academic disciplines and free continuing medical education to doctors/nurses/para-medical staff including free medical consultancy. A MoU between Mali and Telecommunications Consultants India Limited [TCIL] was signed on 04 November 2019 in New Delhi for Mali’s participation in this project. 52 students from Mali have enrolled in various courses till July 2023 academic session under e-VBAB.  

Bilateral cultural exchanges: 

India and Mali signed a bilateral Cultural Exchange Programme (CEP) in September 2016. 

A 2 member cultural delegation visited India during the 3rd India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS-III) in October 2015 for a musical performance and received great appreciation. In March 2017, India donated US$ 0.5 million for the reconstruction of the world heritage of Timbuktu which was announced by HVPI during his visit to Mali in September 2016. An Exhibition hosting Timbuktu manuscripts “Taj Mahal meets Timbuktu” was held at National Museum, New Delhi from 14 May – 6 June 2018. 

Mali’s celebrated Singer Habib Koite and his musical troupe "Bamada" participated in the Udaipur World Music Festival 2020 in the State of Rajasthan, India from 7-9 February 2020. Mali’s cultural troupe Cheickne Sissoko 5Tamans participated in the National Tribal Dance Festival in Raipur, Chhattisgarh from 28-30 October 2021. Further, Mali sent a 21-member team at the UNESCO-India-Africa (UIA) Hackathon, Greater Noida, India from 23-25 November 2022.

There are many Indophiles in Mali who regularly conduct programmes on Indian culture, bollywood etc. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in his monthly radio programme “Mann Ki Baat” on 27 September 2020 praised Mr. Seydou Dembélé alias 'Hindustan Ka Babu of Mali' for his passion towards Indian culture. This was an unprecedented event in the history of India-Mali relationship. It is the first such occasion when an individual from either country was publicly appreciated by the political leadership at the highest level.

Indian Community: The number of Indians in Mali is estimated to be around 600. They are mainly in retail business, mining, power, steel, cement, pharmaceuticals and ago-industry sectors. 

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Bamako

April 2025