Editing Mali (section)

=== Foreign relations ===
{{Main|Foreign relations of Mali|France–Mali relations}}
[[File:Alliance of Sahel States.svg|thumb|upright|The [[Alliance of Sahel States]] between Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. It is anti-French, anti-[[neocolonialism]] and anti-[[ECOWAS]], demonstrated with acts including the remotion of French as an official language in all three states in 2020s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=MSN |url=https://www.msn.com/en-za/news/other/niger-downgrades-french-as-it-distances-from-its-colonial-past-with-a-new-official-language/ar-AA1Cub13?ocid=BingNewsVerp |access-date=2025-04-09 |website=www.msn.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Presse |first=AFP-Agence France |title=Mali Junta Renames Colonial French Street Names |url=https://www.barrons.com/news/mali-junta-renames-colonial-french-street-names-9bdfc394 |access-date=2025-01-01 |website=www.barrons.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-06-06 |title=New wave of anti-colonial populism sweeps Francophone Africa&#xa0; |url=https://qz.com/africa/2173650/new-wave-of-anti-colonial-populism-sweeps-francophone-africa |access-date=2024-09-02 |website=Quartz |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-07-07 |title=Breakaway junta confederation undermines ECOWAS summit |url=https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20240707-breakaway-junda-confederation-undermines-west-african-leaders-summit |access-date=2024-07-09 |website=France 24 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-07-08 |title=West Africa bloc warns of 'disintegration' as juntas form 'Confederation of Sahel States' |url=https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20240708-west-africa-bloc-juntas-confederation-sahel |access-date=2024-07-09 |website=France 24 |language=en}}</ref>]]
[[File:Malick Diaw and Vyacheslav Volodin (2023-03-19).jpg|thumb|Representatives of Mali and [[Russia]] at the 2nd International Parliamentary Conference “Russia-Africa” in Moscow, 19 March 2023]]
Until 2012, Mali's foreign policy orientation had become increasingly pragmatic and pro-Western over time.<ref name=p17>[[#Prof|Mali country profile]], p. 17.</ref> Since the institution of a democratic form of government in 2002, Mali's relations with the West in general and [[Mali-United States relations|with the United States]] in particular have improved significantly.<ref name=p17/> Mali has a longstanding yet ambivalent relationship with France, a [[French Sudan|former colonial ruler]].<ref name=p17/> Mali was active in regional organizations such as the [[African Union]] until its suspension over the [[2012 Malian coup d'état]].<ref name="p17" /><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/03/2012323134643629717.html|title=ion suspends Mali over coup|date=23 March 2012|access-date=23 March 2012|publisher=Al Jazeera|archive-date=25 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120325235036/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/03/2012323134643629717.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Working to control and resolve regional conflicts, such as in [[Ivory Coast]], [[Liberia]], and [[Sierra Leone]], is one of Mali's major foreign policy goals.<ref name="p17" /> Mali feels threatened by the potential for the spillover of conflicts in neighboring states, and relations with those neighbors are often uneasy.<ref name=p17/> General insecurity along borders in the north, including cross-border [[banditry]] and terrorism, remain troubling issues in regional relations.<ref name="p17" />

In early 2019, [[Al Qaeda]] claimed responsibility for an attack on a [[United Nations]] base in Mali that killed 10 peacekeepers from [[Chad]]. 25 people were reported to have been injured in the attack. Al Qaeda's stated reason for the attack was Chad's re-establishing diplomatic ties with Israel. The base was attacked in [[Anguelhok]], a village located in an especially unstable region of the country.<ref name=p17/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/20/world/africa/united-nations-peacekeepers-killed-mali.html |title=Al Qaeda Claims U.N. Peacekeeper Attack That Killed 10 in Mali |date=20 January 2019 |access-date=21 January 2019 |newspaper=NY Times |archive-date=21 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190121175200/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/20/world/africa/united-nations-peacekeepers-killed-mali.html |url-status=live }}</ref>