Drapeau du Mali

Mali

Political and Economic relations

Date of update: March 24th 2026 Information still valid as of today's date

Political relations

Following France’s engagement under Operation Serval in January 2013, Mali and France developed close, confident relations that also drew on historical and cultural ties and on the presence in France of a large Malian diaspora. The political relations between the two countries have however taken a turn for the worse since the two coups d’État in 2020 and 2021.

Economic relations

France remains a major economic partner for Mali, as the leading direct private employer, the leader in the number of companies present in the country, and the top foreign contributor to government revenue (20%).
In the Africa-Indian Ocean region, the country is France’s 10th-largest customer. It represents 3.4% of French exports to the region. France is the country’s second-largest supplier.
French companies are notably present in the digital sector (Orange, Thomson Broadcast), the media (Canal Plus), logistics (Bolloré), refined petroleum (TotalEnergies), agrifood (Castel, GIE AMI), air transport (Air France, Servair), construction (Sogea-Satom, Razel), mining services (JA Delmas), banking services (BNP Paribas), and secure documents (Oberthur).

List of French representations