The Bern-Ouagadougou axis is strengthening. In mid-May, the Swiss Ambassador to Burkina Faso, Dominique Favre, was received by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Cooperation, and Burkinabe Abroad, Karamoko Jean-Marie Traoré. Last December, Minister Traoré received a visit from the Swiss Confederation’s Special Envoy for the Sahel, Ms. Cédrine Berney. One explanation for these multiple visits is that, according to the fourth quarter 2024 report from Burkina Faso’s National Institute of Statistics and Demography (INSD), Switzerland is the leading recipient of Burkina Faso’s exports, with over 516 billion CFA francs worth of products purchased.
France snubbed.
Traditionally, and for many years, France has held this top spot. And the turning point would have come with the creation of the AES, which distanced itself from the former colonial power, often accused of having a paternalistic attitude and being reluctant, even hesitant, to work within the framework of a win-win partnership.
What is even more surprising is that France no longer even appears among the top ten countries linked with Burkina Faso’s exports. Among these ten countries importing Burkina Faso’s products, six are located in Africa, and four are from various countries around the world. Among these four non-African countries, we have: the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Greece, and, of course, Switzerland.
Gold from Burkina Faso
Gold is, for the most part, Burkina Faso’s first export product, which explains Switzerland’s first place and the United Arab Emirates’ second place, and most certainly Singapore’s fourth place as well. In 2024, Switzerland purchased 9.8 tons of gold from Burkina Faso, worth $516.9 billion, and the United Arab Emirates 7.2 tons, worth approximately 303 billion CFA francs.
Trade with neighbours.
As for Côte d’Ivoire, the third-largest importer of Burkinabe products, it purchased not gold but mainly cotton.
Of Burkina Faso’s six neighbouring countries, four are among the top ten importers of Burkinabe products: Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Ghana, and Togo. Benin and Niger do not appear in this table. This fact partly demonstrates the weakness of intra-African trade, and NEPAD, a structure of the African Union, aims to boost this intra-regional African trade.
The Swiss program for sub-Saharan Africa.
Switzerland’s leading position in its trade with Burkina Faso is not surprising. Switzerland has defined its strategy for sub-Saharan Africa for the period 2021-2024. For the Sahel region, Switzerland is committed to promoting peace, respecting international humanitarian law, strengthening basic services, and the sustainable management of natural resources.
It is therefore understandable that Dominique Favre, the Swiss ambassador to Burkina Faso, came to present a new Swiss cooperation program to the Burkinabe authorities last May. This proposed cooperation program focuses “on the creation of new employment opportunities and sources of income, with a view to supporting and providing prospects for young people, access to basic social services, especially for people living in conflict zones, and protection.” Already last December, the Swiss Special Envoy for the Sahel, Cedrine Berney, proposed, within the same framework, a Swiss commitment alongside Burkina Faso for interventions in the areas of peacebuilding, humanitarian aid, development, and training media actors to increase professionalism and accountability in disseminating messages.
For Burkina Faso’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Marie K. Traore, “Burkina Faso-Switzerland cooperation is based on sincere dialogue and concerted approaches. It is on this basis that both parties will be able to readjust their interventions for greater impact for the benefit of the population.”
A shift in economic paradigm.
It would not be surprising if this downward trend in exports to France were observed in the other AES member countries, Mali and Niger. Beyond the AES, other African capitals are committed to developing more profitable partnerships for their populations, sixty-five years after African independence. A decisive turning point has begun in several African countries, which are advocating for the transformation of mining, agricultural, and other primary industries to create profitable added value for African economies, rather than continuing to remain mere exporters of raw materials. Namibia, Ghana, Botswana, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Ivory Coast, and many others are resolutely committed to this new path, which promises to be beneficial for Africa.