• 09 May, 2025
• Osei Agyemang
• No comment

President Putin Welcomes Ibrahim Traore to the Kremlin

Russian President Vladimir Putin has welcomed the President of Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Traore, to Moscow to participate in the 80^th anniversary of Russia’s victory in World War II. Labelled as the victory, the 9^th of May marked the day Nazi Germany was defeated, bringing an end to the six years war.

Since taking power in 2022, President Traore is seeking to redefine the nation’s relationship with the international community, first rejecting Burkina Faso’s dependency on Western powers, especially France, and pivoting more towards Russia and Turkey, with the guiding principle of “no more masters, only partners.”

Since taking this stance, the West has become very critical of the 37-year-old African leader, with the United States AFRICOM commander, General Michael Langley, accusing Traore of using Burkina Faso’s gold reserves to protect his government. There have since been over 20 reported unsuccessful coup and assassination attempts on Traore

Some highlights of Traore’s key policies include,

1. Ending Western military presence. Traore expelled American and French troops from Burkina Faso
2. Traore has nationalized key gold mines valued at $80 million, built the country’s first gold refinery, and ensured that the majority of the profit from the gold stays in Burkina Faso.
3. In an effort towards economic decolonization, President Traore launched a national postal bank to reduce dependency on the franc CFA, banned secondhand clothing imports to bolster local textile industries, and established a tomato processing factory to reduce reliance on imports.
4. Traore has gone further to eliminate colonial symbols from the country by replacing British wigs for judges with traditional African attire, implementing traditional uniforms in schools, and making traditional languages a priority over the French colonial language.
5. Traore has also made strides towards investing in self-sufficiency and has provided farmers with tractors and fertilizers to boost food production. He has offered free cataract surgeries and mobile clinics to improve healthcare, and has revived the Air Burkina and expanded aviation infrastructure.
6. Traore has established the Alliance of Sahel States with Mali and Niger, and plans to establish a central bank, a joint military force, a new passport, in a path towards African unity.

Traore has rejected a presidential salary, living modestly on his army salary, and rejecting foreign loans and aids, he is demonstrating that Africans don’t need saving from any foreign power.