Musings From Abroad

Mali, Niger unite to revoke tax cooperation treaties with France

Published

12 months ago

December 6, 2023

The leaders of West African neighbours, Mali and Niger, have abolished tax agreements with France, further worsening their fractious relations with Paris.

In a joint statement, the leaders of the neighbouring West African nations cited “France’s persistent hostile attitude towards our states” and “the unbalanced nature of these agreements, which result in a considerable loss of revenue for Mali and Niger.”

The military leaders of each nation declared that the tax agreements with the former colonial power, France, would expire “within three months.”

The agreements “aimed at avoiding ‘eliminating’ in the case of Niger, double taxation, and establishing rules for mutual assistance” in fiscal matters have been in place between France and Mali since 1972, and Niger since 1965. The agreements address registration requirements, inheritance tax, and personal and corporate income tax.

The actions of Mali and Niger represent the most recent show of defiance against France following military takeovers of Bamako in 2020 and Niamey earlier this year. Another Sahelian nation, Burkina Faso, whose military overthrew its government last year, had already criticised its tax agreement with France earlier in the year.

This year, the three African countries have aligned based on similar issues confronting them, such as militants. Their foreign ministers have also recently suggested the formation of a confederation.

In the past three years, the West African subregion has seen five coups in five different countries, most notably in Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Chad, and the newest member of the group, Niger.

Additionally, all five of these nations share a growing wave of anti-French sentiment and are connected to Russia’s Wagner mercenary group.

Related Topics:#niger Featured France Mali

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Musings From Abroad

Nigeria, India to strengthen counterterrorism, maritime security cooperation

Published

24 hours ago

November 18, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

During a state visit to Nigeria on Sunday, Indian Prime Minister, Narendra, Modi reached an agreement, on behalf of his country, to strengthen cooperation in counterterrorism, intelligence, and maritime security.

President Bola Tinubu invited Modi to visit Nigeria, the first Indian prime minister to do so in 17 years.

Tinubu is looking for investments from some of the largest economies in the world.

In addition to discussing economic development, defence, healthcare, and food security, Modi and Tinubu met at the presidential mansion on Sunday after arriving in the capital, Abuja, on Saturday night, according to a joint statement.

The two nations decided to work together to protect maritime trade routes and fight piracy in response to the mounting risks in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Guinea.

The most populous country in Africa, Nigeria, is looking to attract more Indian investment and lower-cost credit lines in order to strengthen its economy and generate employment.

Nigeria announced last year that it had obtained about $14 billion in pledges from Indian businesses, including Jindal Steel and Power, which promised to spend $3 billion in Nigeria’s steel industry, during the G20 conference.

Over 200 Indian businesses are present in Nigeria.

Modi was scheduled to go to Brazil for this year’s G20 conference after Nigeria.

Nigeria and India have a long-standing and cordial bilateral relationship. Nigeria, home to more than 200 million people, and India, home to 1.3 billion people, are both sizable emerging nations with multilingual, multiethnic, and multireligious communities.

Musings From Abroad

Military advisors from Russia arrive Equatorial Guinea

Published

2 days ago

November 17, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Russian military advisors are in Equatorial Guinea training indigenous soldiers.

Anonymous sources cited by Reuters during the week claim that between 100 and 200 Russian instructors are training with elite guards in charge of guarding the President and the first family.

The males had been seen in Malabo, the country’s capital, and Bata, its second city. Reports of Russian forces stationed in the nation initially appeared in August.

Oil-rich Equatorial Guinea’s President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has maintained close relations with Moscow.

Nguema travelled to Moscow in September to attend the Russian Energy Week International Forum.

Russia has strengthened military connections with African countries, sending advisors and combat soldiers to the Central African Republic, Mozambique, Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso.

Faced with an Islamist terrorist insurrection, three Sahel countries have turned to Moscow for support, expelling French and American troops.