Mali Imposes $10,000 Visa Bond On US Visitors In Tit-for-tat Move

Video Summary

Mali has announced that US nationals visiting the West African country will be required to post a bond of up to $10,000 for business and tourist visas, in response to a similar requirement the Trump administration has imposed on its citizens.. The US embassy in Mali says the fee had been introduced to reinforce Washington’s « commitment to protecting America’s borders and safeguarding US national security ».. Mali’s foreign ministry says the bond had been imposed unilaterally, and it had decided to « establish an identical visa programme » for US citizens.

Video Details

Source: Playlist 8

Publication Date: 2025-10-17T04:49:14Z

Original Link: Watch the video on YouTube

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Mali has announced that US nationals visiting the West African country will be required to post a bond of up to $10,000 for business and tourist visas, in response to a similar requirement the Trump administration has imposed on its citizens.
The US embassy in Mali says the fee had been introduced to reinforce Washington’s « commitment to protecting America’s borders and safeguarding US national security ».
Mali’s foreign ministry says the bond had been imposed unilaterally, and it had decided to « establish an identical visa programme » for US citizens.
The visa policy shift comes despite moves to improve diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Foreign affairs minister Karamoko Jean-Marie Traoré questioned if the embassy’s decision was « blackmail » after he said he had rejected a US proposal to take in migrants from third countries.
Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa to end dollar trade with new cross-border payment platform
The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa 21-nation trade bloc that counts Kenya and Egypt among its members, has introduced a new digital payments platform that could support how the continent trades. Dubbed the Digital Retail Payments Platform, this system lets traders settle cross-border deals in their national currencies, instead of the US dollar.
The platform is currently being tested between Malawi and Zambia. But the plan is to establish the platform across the COMESA region.
Trade between the COMESA member countries remains low, making up for less than 10% of the bloc’s total trade. The regional secretariat attributes this to currency conversion costs, limited financial connectivity, and the reliance on the US dollar for settlements.