A Turkish delegation including Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, National Defense Minister Yaşar Güler, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar and National Intelligence Organization (MIT) Director Ibrahim Kalın were in Niger on Wednesday. They attended a joint working meeting chaired by Prime Minister Ali Mahamane Lamine Zeine.
The visit is another phase in Türkiye’s transformation of relations with African countries and the first of its kind since a government change in that country last year. Foreign Minister Fidan later held a bilateral meeting with his counterpart Bakary Yaou Sangare.
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 during the delegation’s visit.
Türkiye is engaged in the “African Initiative” and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan emphasizes on every occasion that Turkish presence in the continent is different than the “colonialist mindset” of Western countries and based on a “win-win approach.”
Economic, political and military relations between Türkiye and Niger continued following the new administration's rise to power.
Prime Minister Zeine visited Türkiye in February at the invitation of Erdoğan. He also visited defense industry companies in Türkiye.
Since the change of government, Niger’s shifting political and diplomatic dynamics have opened new opportunities for various actors. The new administration, led by Gen. Abdurrahmane Tchiani, has severed nearly all ties with its Western allies. It is now working to establish new alliances and relationships to foster the country's political and economic development.
The change in Niger's administration, which had been considered one of the West's closest allies in Africa, has most significantly affected its relations with former colonial ruler France. Shortly after Tchiani took power, it ended military cooperation with France on Aug. 4, 2023, and declared France's ambassador to Niamey, Sylvain Itte, persona non grata on Aug. 25. Despite France's efforts to keep Itte in the country, declaring the decision illegitimate, Itte played a game of cat and mouse with the new government, staying within the embassy compound for nearly a month to avoid capture. People staged almost daily protests outside the French Embassy, demanding Itte leave the country, while electricity and water supplies to the compound were cut off, and food deliveries were blocked. Itte finally departed Niger on Sept. 27. After Itte's departure, France closed its embassy in Niamey and withdrew its 1,500 troops from the country on December 22, 2023.
Meanwhile, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), of which Niger is a member, imposed several sanctions on Niger following the regime change, with neighboring ECOWAS member countries closing all their borders with Niger.
Despite repeated calls from ECOWAS for the release of ousted leader Mohamed Bazoum, who has been under house arrest since the first day of the change, and a return to constitutional order, the government has not responded to calls.
ECOWAS announced in August 2023 that a military operation could be conducted in Niger and ordered its standby force, established to intervene in crises, to prepare. Although the announcement received significant attention both regionally and internationally, ECOWAS did not undertake any military intervention in Niger.
Neighboring countries Mali and Burkina Faso, also under military rule, moved to protect Niger against the threat of an ECOWAS operation. The three countries established the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) in September 2023 to form a joint defense force against potential military intervention from ECOWAS. In January 2024, the three nations announced their withdrawal from ECOWAS and agreed to form a confederation. During the first AES summit held in Niger on July 6, the countries signed a joint declaration allowing the creation of a confederation.
Although Niger's new government cut ties with France, it maintained dialogue with the United States, allowing newly appointed U.S. Ambassador to Niamey, Kathleen FitzGibbon, to enter the country shortly after the regime change. Unlike France, the U.S. avoided labeling the change in government a coup for a long time to prevent halting aid to Niger.
Following the coup, Niamey also began moving closer to Russia, similar to Mali and Burkina Faso. During this period, U.S. media reported claims that Iran had agreed to purchase uranium from Niger and that a preliminary agreement had been signed between the two countries. Following these reports, a delegation from U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) visited Niamey on March 12-13, expressing concern over Niger's growing ties with Iran and Russia, which angered the government. On March 17, Niamey terminated its military cooperation agreement with the U.S., signed in 2012, and demanded the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country as soon as possible.
The U.S., which had approximately 1,000 troops and a drone base in Niger, largely completed its withdrawal process initiated in June. Niger 201, the U.S.'s second-largest drone base in Africa after its permanent base in Djibouti, has been in operation since 2019, with construction and funding by the U.S. and ownership by the Nigerien military. The base, rented from the Nigerien government for 10 years, is considered the U.S.'s largest and most expensive drone base, costing $110 million to build and $30 million annually to maintain. It has been a key intelligence and surveillance center in the Sahel.
Meanwhile, under a military cooperation agreement signed in January, Russian military trainers arrived in Niger in April to train Nigerien forces on air defense systems supplied by Moscow.
Ranked seventh among the world's largest uranium suppliers, Niger accounts for 5% of global uranium supply in 2022.
It is the third-largest supplier of uranium to France and the second-largest to the EU, with reserves of 311,110 metric tons France has been sourcing uranium from its former colony Niger for nearly 50 years through its state-owned nuclear energy company Orano, formerly known as Areva.
Following the new government's decision to end diplomatic and military relations with France, Orano's operating license for the Imouraren uranium deposit in northern Niger was revoked on June 20. Niamey cited Orano's failure to start mining operations at the site despite warnings as the reason for the decision. Orano had suspended work at the site following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011 due to a decline in the uranium market.
The government had warned Orano in March that it would revoke the license if mining operations did not commence within three months.
Imouraren mine, with an estimated 200,000 tons of reserves, is considered one of the world's most significant uranium deposits.
