The Minister of Energy and Water - the NBA Supervising Minister in Mali - received the Executive Secretary in audience on Monday 13th April, 2026, as part of an advocacy Mission to national Authorities for a successful implementation of the PIDACC/NB – Mali Component
Prof. Tchiémo Ko TRAORE, the Honourable Minister of Energy and Water, and Supervising Minister of the Niger Basin Authority (NBA) in Mali, received in audience, on Monday 13th April, 2026, H.E. Kocou Armand HOUANYE, the NBA Executive Secretary, H.E. Younoussa BARAZI MAIGA, the Ambassador of the Republic of Mali to Niger and Mr. Nouredine Zakaria TOURE, the Chairman of the Regional Coordinating Unit of Users of the Niger Basin Natural Resources, accompanied by: (i) Mr. Ibro ADAMOU, the Ag Technical Director of the NBA Executive Secretariat, (ii) Mr. Seyni SEYDOU, the PIDACC/NB Regional Coordinator and, (iii) Mrs. Aminata TRAORE BARRY, the Accounting Agent of the NBA Executive Secretariat.
The audience is part of the Mali step, taking place from 12th to 17th April, 2026 in Bamako, of a series of Country advocacy Missions aimed to accelerate the implementation of the Programme for Integrated Development and Adaptation to Climate Change in the Niger Basin (PIDACC/NB 2019 –2027), financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and its partners with a budget of over 232 million US dollars for the benefit of the nine (9) NBA member countries.
The aim of the Mission is to engage with the relevant stakeholders and explore realistic measures that are acceptable to the partners, with a view to significantly enhancing the pace for implementing the PIDACC/NB – Mali Component, whose performance to date still falls short of expectations, with less than two years before its closing date of 31st December, 2027.
Deeply touched by the warm welcome, the Executive Secretary expressed the Delegation’s gratitude for the arrangements made and the facilities provided to ensure an excellent conduct of the Mission. He then took the opportunity to:
- Present the level of implementation of the PIDACC/NB – Mali Component, and;
- Express the hope that, following the Mission, a consistent action plan would be agreed upon by both Parties for an effective achievement of the community and multi-purpose infrastructures planned under the Programme by the end of June 2027.
In the presence of the NBA Supervising Minister, the NBA Executive Secretary also expressed his deep gratitude to H.E. Younoussa BARAZI MAIGA, Ambassador of the Republic of Mali to Niger, for his much-appreciated role as a liaison between the NBA Executive Secretariat in Niamey and the relevant NBA Authorities in Mali in Bamako.
The Executive Secretariat noted that the Mission also includes meetings with other relevant NBA national Authorities in Mali to:
- Brief them on the NBA governance and on the prospects for the preparations and holding, in 2026, of the 13th Conference of the NBA Summit of Heads of State and Government;
- Reiterate its deep appreciation for their sustained contributions towards an NBA which is well-governed and high-performing in fulfilling the Mission entrusted to it by its member countries;
- Get their guidance for consideration in NBA’s development Actions in the Malian part of the Niger Basin.
The Supervising Minister commended and encouraged the NBA Executive Secretary for his commitment and various initiatives for PIDACC/NB’ successful implementation.
Prof. Tchiémo Ko TRAORE reassured the Mission of his determination to work for a significant enhancement of the performance of the PIDACC/NB – Mali Component, which is already underway in 2026. To this end, he committed to even closer monitoring of the Programme, supported by weekly reports which will henceforth be provided to him by the Programme’s National and Strategic Coordinators.
The Minister also declared himself available to respond to any requests aimed to facilitate the implementation of the Programme’s acceleration Action Plan, both in Mali and at the regional level.
The courtesy call concluded on a hopeful note and with a firm commitment from both Authorities to spare no effort for ensuring the timely and successful completion of the community and multi-purpose infrastructures planned under the PIDACC/NB – Mali Component, the physical construction of which will exceed six months. The two Authorities also agreed to meet again at the end of the Mission for a debriefing session on the resulting main conclusions and recommendations.
