Former Ivorian Prime Minister and Speaker of the parliament Guillaume Soro met Monday with Niger’s transitional President General Abdourahmane Tchiani after announcing the ending of his exile outside the continent.
Soro, according to his party Générations et Peuples Solidaires (GPS), arrived in Niger Saturday November 11 after escaping abduction operation in Turkiye that he blamed on Ivorian leader AlassaneOuattara.
Tchiani according to the party granted him an audience that lasted for one hour and half. “I had the honor of being received today in audience by the President of the Transition of Niger, Head of State, General Abdourahmane Tchiani, accompanied by General Salifou Mody, Minister of Defense, and General Mohamed Toumba, Minister of the Interior,” Soro himself said on X(former Twitter).
The meeting, the party said, is in line with Soro’s commitment to contribute to building peace and harmony between the brotherly peoples of Africa. Ties between Niger and Cote d’Ivoire have been sour since July 26, the day Tchiani deposed west-backed Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum. Ouattara has been among the few regional Heads of States who endorsed economic sanctions on Niger and wielded a military intervention to restore Bazoum.
It is unclear if Niger will be Soro’s new host country. The ex-rebel and Ouattara’s former ally has been in exile since 2019. He is facing arrest in Cote d’Ivoire over several condemnations including life in prison for undermining the state and twenty years in prison for money embezzlement.