OUAGADOUGOU, March 12 (Xinhua) -- The United States has reaffirmed its willingness to revive relations with Burkina Faso and to work together on issues of shared interest, a senior official at the U.S. State Department's Bureau of African Affairs said during a working visit to the West African country's capital, Ouagadougou.
After meeting with Burkina Faso's Minister of Foreign Affairs Karamoko Jean Marie Traore, senior bureau official Nick Checker said their discussions were "very constructive."
"We discussed our willingness to relaunch relations between the United States and Burkina Faso and to work together on issues of shared interest. We must learn from the past; the goal is to move forward, rebuild trust, and cooperate on matters that concern us all," he said.
Through the visit, Washington aims to resume dialogue and promote a warming of cooperative relations with Burkina Faso while respecting the country's sovereignty, Burkina Faso's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Thursday in a statement.
According to the statement, the areas of cooperation are expected to concern counterterrorism efforts, notably the possible lifting of the suspension on exports of military equipment to Burkina Faso, as well as economic cooperation and trade exchanges.
For his part, the Burkinabe foreign minister welcomed the new U.S. approach aimed at redefining bilateral relations in light of difficulties encountered in the past.
Checker's visit to Ouagadougou is part of a regional tour that also includes Niger, following his recent trip to Mali, aimed at strengthening Washington's ties with the Confederation of the Alliance of Sahel States. ■