Center for Strategic and International Studies | Virtual Event

Description: Prime Minister Ali Lamine Zeine was appointed Prime Minister and Minister of Finance by Niger’s military junta in August 2023. Just prior to his appointment he had served at the African Development Bank as its resident representative in Chad, Ivory Coast, and Gabon. An economist by training, he served as Niger’s Minister of Finance from 2003-2010. Today as Prime Minister he represents a military junta to the outside world, seeking to manage delicate relations with neighboring states, which are calling for detained President Bazoum’s restoration, as well as seeking to mitigate the effects of comprehensive regional sanctions imposed on Niger in July after the military’s coup and deliver some measure of government services to Niger’s long-suffering population. Niger is one of several states in the region that have seen military coups in the last two years and which now are stuck between managing a growing terrorist insurgency at home and balancing the demands of outside powers.  Several high level Russian delegations have visited Niger recently with offers of military assistance, now cut off from Washington; as well as multiple high-level US visits seeking to maintain a platform for US intelligence collection in the country. The CSIS Africa Program’s discussion with the Prime Minister will touch on how Niger is managing this great power competition; what the government’s plan is to stabilize the economy and return to democracy; and what role the Prime Minister is trying to play inside the military government. This webinar will be in French and English with simultaneous interpretation.

The registration link can be found below.