00:00Burkina Faso officially ended diplomatic relations with France on Friday, June 26th this year.
00:07The announcement was made by the government in a statement released in Ouagadougou.
00:12Following the formal break in ties between Paris and Ouagadougou,
00:16diplomatic affairs between the two countries will now be handled through a third state,
00:21in accordance with the Vienna Convention, says international relations expert Amadei Seurat.
00:26It is a state-to-state and institutional relations between the two countries that are affected by the break.
00:33However, we have seen countries that are in conflict still manage to communicate and maintain diplomatic channels through a third
00:41country.
00:42But the expert believes the diplomatic rupture is not irreversible.
00:48What is being challenged is the conduct of the current political leadership.
00:55If, over time, a new political situation emerges, new measures can also be taken to respond to those new circumstances.
01:06According to the analyst, the diplomatic break does not automatically affect economic cooperation
01:11unless French companies in Burkina Faso adopt a hostile stance.
01:19Even though the termination of the double taxation agreement,
01:23which now requires French companies to pay taxes in Burkina Faso,
01:27prompted some businesses to leave the country,
01:29this diplomatic and political decision does not in itself affect economic relations.
01:41However, if French companies still operating in Burkina Faso were to adopt a hostile attitude,
01:48that will represent a different development,
01:51one that the Burkina Faso government will assess accordingly.
02:00France has condemned the decision by Burkina Faso's authorities describing it as unilateral, hostile and without justification.
02:08Paris says it will respond with reciprocal measures.
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