Togo is no longer the guest of honour of the 28th edition of the Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO).Mali is now the new guest of the biennial African film festival which will be held from February 25 to March 7, 2023 in Ouagadougou, the chairman of the National Organising Committee, Fidele Tamini, announced on Thursday.

 Bamako replaced Lomé (Togo), three weeks before the event under the theme “African Cinema and Culture of Peace.”

 Mr. Tamini explained that there were no problems with Togo but in view of the current challenges, “there is no better partner than Mali to be the guest of honour.” 

For him, Mali is also a country of cinema and shares common visions with Burkina Faso.

 The head of the Burkinabe government, Apollinaire Kyelem de Tambela, stayed in Bamako on Wednesday and Thursday. 

On his way to the Joliba River, he made a stopover in Lomé where he held talks with Togolese authorities, reassuring them of the excellent diplomatic relations between the two countries.

 Since September 2022, Ouagadougou has come much closer to Bamako, against the backdrop of a diplomatic crisis with Paris.