Former Senegalese president Macky Sall paid a discreet working visit to Burundi this week for talks with President Évariste Ndayishimiye, the newly elected chair of the African Union (AU) for 2026.
The meeting, held in Bujumbura after a low-key arrival at Melchior Ndadaye International Airport, brought together a former AU chair and the bloc’s new leader at a moment when climate, water security, and regional stability are converging at the top of Africa’s agenda.
Sall, who governed Senegal from 2012 to 2024 and led the AU in 2022–2023, was received by senior Burundian officials and later thanked the authorities for what he described on social media as a warm and courteous welcome.
No detailed programme was released, but Burundian and regional media reported at least one formal meeting at the presidency, with discussions expected to cover peace and security in the Great Lakes region, economic cooperation, and the implementation of AU priorities for the year.
An Early Test For the New AU Chair
Ndayishimiye was elected AU chairperson for 2026 at a summit in Addis Ababa earlier this month, where leaders endorsed the theme of “Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems to Achieve the Goals of Agenda 2063.”
The focus signals a deliberate effort to frame water security, sanitation, and climate resilience not as narrow development concerns, but as core to the continent’s economic transformation and social stability.
Diplomats and AU officials say the theme also reflects a growing recognition that disputes over access to water and basic services are feeding local conflicts and cross-border tensions, from the Sahel to the Horn of Africa.
For a small, densely populated, and climate‑vulnerable country such as Burundi, the mandate offers both a challenge and an opportunity: to turn structural exposure into a platform for leadership on issues affecting millions.
In that context, Sall’s presence in Bujumbura carries weight beyond protocol. As AU chair during a period marked by pandemic aftershocks and global food and energy shocks linked to the war in Ukraine, he helped coordinate the Union’s response to supply disruptions and inflation that hit African economies hard. His experience navigating those crises gives Ndayishimiye a seasoned interlocutor as he begins shaping his year at the helm.
Climate Adaptation as Diplomatic Glue
Burundi was not Sall’s only stop. Before flying to Bujumbura, he held talks in Nairobi with Kenyan President William Ruto in his capacity as chair of the supervisory board of the . This international organisation supports climate adaptation, particularly in developing and climate‑vulnerable countries.
The GCA focuses on practical measures such as resilient infrastructure, water management, and support for communities facing extreme weather, priorities that closely mirror the AU’s 2026 theme.
Ruto has described the partnership with the GCA as central to Africa’s strategy of shifting from “victimhood to agency” in global climate politics, according to Kenyan media reports.
By receiving Sall so soon after his Nairobi consultations, Ndayishimiye is effectively inserting Burundi into that emerging web of climate diplomacy.
For Bujumbura, where heavy rains, floods, and pressure on arable land have already disrupted livelihoods, aligning with a former AU chair who now occupies a pivotal role in a global adaptation institution provides a channel to technical expertise and potential financing.
Discretion, Networks, and Informal Influence
Official communication about the Burundi visit has remained sparse. As of Thursday evening, no full communiqué had been issued, and the trip appeared to be short in duration, with only a few public appearances.
That discretion is consistent with a pattern noted by regional observers. Africa Intelligence, a specialist newsletter on African politics and business, recently described Sall’s post‑presidential travels, including low‑profile trips to countries such as the Ivory Coast, as “under‑the‑radar” efforts focused on political networking and quiet consultations rather than ceremonial spectacle.
Analysts say such visits illustrate how personal relationships among current and former leaders now function as an informal infrastructure of African diplomacy, often complementing official channels. “These encounters are where ideas are floated, positions are tested, and support is quietly built ahead of big continental decisions,” said a West Africa–based political analyst who follows AU politics closely.
For sitting presidents, engaging former leaders like Sall offers a mix of political and practical benefits. They gain access to someone who understands the pressures of the office and the mechanics of multilateral institutions, yet can operate with greater flexibility than a serving head of state.
For former presidents, the role can extend their influence, allowing them to champion pan‑African causes and climate priorities beyond their national mandates.
A Continental Stage Beyond Office
Since leaving office in 2024, Sall has increasingly positioned himself at the intersection of climate diplomacy, regional stability, and multilateral advocacy. His appointment as chair of the GCA’s supervisory board has given him a platform to argue that climate adaptation finance must move faster and at a greater scale for African countries, a message that resonates with leaders confronting recurrent floods, droughts, and budget constraints.
For Ndayishimiye, who is still consolidating his continental profile, the Burundi meeting is an early opportunity to translate the AU’s thematic language into concrete partnerships and projects. It comes as the Union juggles mounting pressures: conflicts in several regions, rising debt burdens, contentious debates over external military bases, and evolving relations with global powers.
There may be a few immediate headlines from Bujumbura. Yet the very fact of this encounter, between a new AU chair and a former one, framed around climate and regional stability rather than crisis firefighting, hints at a quieter reconfiguration of how African diplomacy is conducted.
In modest reception rooms away from the cameras, leaders are trying to stitch together responses to problems that cross borders: water scarcity, climate shocks, economic fragility, and insecurity. Sall’s stop in Burundi suggests that, for some of the continent’s most experienced political figures, the stage of African politics does not end at the moment of leaving office.
For Ndayishimiye, it marks the start of a year in which his ability to build and use such relationships could shape not only his own legacy, but also the AU’s response to some of Africa’s most urgent challenges.
