A significant diplomatic breakthrough has emerged between Algeria and Mali, as both nations announce the reciprocal reopening of their airspaces and the return of their respective ambassadors. This move signals a crucial step towards mending relations that had severely deteriorated in recent years, particularly following accusations of interference from Mali’s current government against Algiers.
The Malian government confirmed its decision to “reopen national airspace to all civilian and military aircraft operating flights to or from” Algeria, as stated in an official communiqué. Concurrently, Bamako also revealed the impending return of its ambassador to Algiers, who had been recalled in April 2025, though a specific date for his resumption of duties was not provided.
Hours before Mali’s announcement, Algiers had already communicated a similar measure regarding its neighbor’s airspace. This decision, effective this Friday, encompasses “all air flights to and from Mali across various international destinations,” according to a statement from the Algerian Ministry of Defense. Mirroring Mali’s initiative, Algeria also declared the return of its ambassador to Mali on Friday.
Drone incident fallout
Kamel Retieb, who served as ambassador in Bamako before his recall by Algiers, is set to resume his diplomatic post, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed. His recall stemmed from a diplomatic dispute ignited by the destruction of a Malian drone by Algerian forces in April 2025.
Algeria, which played a pivotal role in brokering the 2015 peace accord between Bamako and northern armed groups, has seen its regional influence challenged by Mali’s new authorities. These new leaders have consistently accused Algeria of meddling in their internal affairs.
Mali has been grappling with a persistent security crisis since 2012, fueled by violence from groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS), alongside community-based criminal gangs. The dispute between the two nations escalated significantly in spring 2025, following the destruction of a Malian military drone near their shared border.
Algeria maintained that the aircraft had violated its airspace, while Mali countered that the drone was operating within its own territory. This incident triggered a full-blown diplomatic crisis, marked by the recall of ambassadors, reciprocal airspace closures, and a series of accusations exchanged between Algiers and the member states of the Alliance of Sahel States (Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger).
Further tensions were exacerbated in April by Mali’s public support for Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara, a position directly at odds with Algeria’s long-standing stance on the issue.
Despite these recent disagreements, Algeria and Mali remain intrinsically linked by their extensive shared border and common security imperatives, particularly the ongoing battle against jihadist groups operating across the Sahel region.