On October 28, 2026, the Prime Minister of Burkina Faso, Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouédraogo, participated in the signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding between the Banque Confédérale pour l'Investissement et le Développement de la Confédération des États du Sahel (BCID-AES) and the Russian state-owned development company VEB.RF. The ceremony took place in Moscow, on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum. The agreement was signed by BCID-AES President, Balibié Serge Auguste Bayala, and VEB.RF Vice-President, Daniil Algoulian.
The memorandum establishes a framework for cooperation aimed at promoting economic and commercial exchanges, as well as investments between Russia and the states of the Sahel Confederation. Representing the Sahel Confederation, Prime Minister Ouédraogo welcomed the strong political commitment, which opens up prospects for sharing experiences between development institutions, intensifying commercial exchanges, and implementing projects in priority sectors. He emphasized that the impact of this partnership should be measured by its benefits to the Sahelian populations.
Prime Minister Ouédraogo insisted on the criteria of local value added, job creation, and skills transfer, which should guide the examination of projects and initiatives submitted under this framework. He urged the two institutions to quickly implement the memorandum, designating focal points and aiming to sign a first project within twelve months. He also requested simple and rapid procedures, commensurate with the expectations of populations in terms of high-impact investments, and an annual joint review.
BCID-AES President, Balibié Serge Auguste Bayala, clarified that the cooperation will mainly focus on capacity building, structuring investment projects, and co-financing major confederal projects. The two institutions also plan to explore possibilities for facilitating payment means related to commercial exchanges. According to him, the next steps will involve examining the priorities of member states and identifying projects that could be subject to joint structuring and financing work.
The President of the BCID-AES cited energy, agriculture, production transformation, and infrastructure as areas of need for the Confederation. He stressed the complementarity between access to energy, increased production, and the development of storage and transformation capacities. Roads, railways, and transport corridors are also necessary infrastructure for the transportation of products and the development of exchanges.
Russian Vice-Premier Minister, Alexandre Novak, reaffirmed his country's willingness to strengthen commercial cooperation and investments with Sahel states, while supporting socially impactful projects. Through this memorandum, VEB.RF becomes the first international partner of the BCID-AES. For the AES, the challenge is now to translate this cooperation framework into structuring projects that create jobs and promote skills transfer, benefiting the populations of the Confederation.
The signing of this memorandum marks a significant step in the strengthening of economic cooperation between Russia and the Sahel Confederation. The implementation of this partnership will be closely monitored, with a focus on concrete results and benefits for the populations concerned. The BCID-AES and VEB.RF will work together to identify priority projects and facilitate their implementation.
Key points
- The BCID-AES and VEB.RF partnership aims to promote economic and commercial exchanges, as well as investments between Russia and the states of the Sahel Confederation.
- The cooperation will focus on capacity building, structuring investment projects, and co-financing major confederal projects.
- The implementation of this partnership will prioritize local value added, job creation, and skills transfer.
