Complete letter:
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Cooperation and Burkina Faso Citizens Abroad followed with great interest the public session held on April 3, 2025 by the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services, devoted to hearing senior military officials from US commands for Europe (US EUCOM) and for Africa (US AFRICOM). At this session, answering a question not directly related to Burkina Faso, General Michael LANGLEY, commander of US AFRICOM, made some regrettable comments- to say the least- with serious inaccuracies about Burkina Faso and its Government, without supporting his statements with the slightest evidence.
By claiming that Burkina Faso’s mineral resources, as well as certain revenues from cooperation with the People’s Republic of China, might not be beneficial to the populations and might rather serve to protect the “regime in power,” General LANGLEY is taking a stand deliberately ignoring the new sovereignty momentum of Burkina Faso. Such unsubstantial, unfounded and eminently political comments, are all the more worrying because they were made within a parliamentary body as prestigious as the US Senate, by a senior military official.
The Ministry hereby strongly protests against these wrong statements, with no aim other than harming the image of the Government of Burkina Faso, especially for efforts made in the fight against corruption and in defending the interests of the Burkina Faso people – two major priorities of the President of Burkina Faso, His Excellency Captain Ibrahim TRAORÉ.
The Ministry formally denies such allegations. Concrete actions conducted on the ground show the sincere commitment of the Burkina Faso authorities to fostering inclusive and sustainable development. Far-reaching reforms have been undertaken in the areas of agriculture, water, infrastructure, education, and health, to improve the distribution of resources that would benefit populations. Since he took office, His Excellency Captain Ibrahim TRAORÉ worked resolutely to improve public governance. All revenues from mining are now returned to the State coffers and are being rigorously and transparently managed under the national budget.
General LANGLEY should have rather focused on his area of expertise by providing the members of the Senate committee with a more balanced analysis of the causes that led Burkina Faso to re-review some military cooperation agreements, in respect of its sovereignty. He could also have highlighted the significant progress made by the Defense and Security Forces (FDS), supported by the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP), in the fight against terrorism, with the support of sincere partners complying with will of the Burkina Faso people.
Finally, the Ministry reiterates the importance of open and constructive dialogue, and urges that appropriate communication channels be used to foster a fair and objective understanding of the situation and new momentum prevailing in Burkina Faso.
Done in Ouagadougou on April 15, 2025
Karamoko Jean Marie TRAORE
Hmm, it is down for me as well. 😞 I tried with just https://www.sig.gov.bf/ and it also unreachable
The next option is to look through https://xcancel.com/sigbf
Will do, in a little while.
Eta forgotten thank you.