Niger welcomes top Turkish delegation after kicking US, France out

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has attended a joint working group meeting in Niger's capital Niamey.

He travelled to the West African nation on a day-long official visit.

Fidan is accompanied by National Defence Minister Yasar Guler, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar, Intelligence Chief Ibrahim Kalin, Secretary of Defence Industries Haluk Gorgun, and Deputy Trade Minister Ozgur Volkan.

The session was chaired by Niger's Prime Minister Ali Mahamane Lamine Zeine on Wednesday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on X.

Diplomatic sources on Tuesday said bilateral political and economic relations, current developments in the Sahel region, and regional issues, including the Israel-Palestine conflict, were expected to be discussed.

Growing anti-West sentiments

Last year, soldiers in Niger declared a coup on live television, ousting resident Mohamed Bazoum, who had unsuccessfully attempted to combat terrorist activities in the country with the aid of French troops.

Plus, there were claims that president Bazoum was serving French interests, and these accusations were used to justify his removal from power, led by Gen Abdourahmane Tchiani.

Before the military coup, Niger was an important economic and security ally for Western countries in the Sahel region. However, the junta that took control pledged to cut ties with the West, leading to a review of mining agreements and the withdrawal of Western troops from Niger.

After the coup, Nigeriens protested and attacked the French embassy. Historically, some of their grievances can be traced to how French colonial rule exploited resources and used oppressively brutal methods to maintain itself.

Even after African countries, such as Niger, gained independence, France continued to interfere in their politics and economies.

Niger announced in March it was ending a military cooperation agreement with the US, saying the presence of US soldiers was now "illegal".

The country has been a key base for the US's so-called counter-terrorism operations in West Africa, with a major US drone base near the northern city of Agadez that cost a reported $100 million to build.

Since 2019, the US military has used drones and aircraft to carry out surveillance missions from the air base on Agadez's outskirts.

US military service Reaper drones have been flying as far as the borders of neighbouring Libya, Chad, Nigeria and Mali which have limited aerial surveillance capabilities.