Please accept the congratulations of Niger on the occasion of your election to the presidency of this 81st session of the General Assembly, as well as our thanks to your predecessor, Her Excellency Ms. Annalena Baerbock, and to Mr.
António Guterres, Secretary-General of our Organization, whose second term will end on 31 December next.
The theme of this session, “Restoring trust, managing transformation: a United Nations that works for all”, is perfectly in keeping with the concerns of peoples who aspire to peace and progress while bombs and other instruments of mass destruction constantly bring death and desolation in all parts of our planet.
How can trust be restored and transformation managed in the world so that the United Nations effectively bring peace and happiness to all peoples?
I recall that our previous session called on us to act “better together”. That message remains valid.
But it imposes on us a duty of assessment, to measure what has been accomplished and to recognize what has not. For trust is not built through the accumulation of promises, but through their effective implementation for the benefit of peoples.
Trust is not decreed. It is built. It is earned. And it requires truth and justice.
How can trust be restored when, for decades, the idea of a poor Africa has been fostered through propaganda, condemned to survive thanks to the assistance of a supposed international generosity, while its wealth is stolen and/or sequestrated for the benefit of other agendas?
How can this trust be restored when the international institutions, supposed to protect us, have become the instruments of a world order where some peoples count and others merely survive, and where international law is variable in application?
What is to be said of the crimes committed in Libya, Iraq, Palestine, Iran, Lebanon, Cuba, Venezuela, and the Sahel, in the name of supposedly universal values and which remain unpunished, while sovereign nations are threatened with sanctions for having simply wanted to decide their destiny?
The Niger is following with deep concern the tragic situation prevailing in Palestine, particularly in Gaza, where civilians are paying an unbearable human price. We call for the effective protection of civilian populations, unimpeded humanitarian access and the search for a just and lasting peace. The Niger reaffirms its support for a two- State solution, enabling the State of Palestine and the State of Israel to live side by side in peace, security and dignity.
How can trust be restored when, 81 years after San Francisco, Africa, with its 1.4 billion inhabitants and 54 States, still has no permanent seat on the Security Council?
Through my voice, the Niger reaffirms its attachment to the Ezulwini Consensus and requests that this historical anomaly cease to be a subject of sterile debates and finally become the object of a concrete decision.
Our Sahel is in a war of liberation against a conspiracy aimed at its recolonization!
What is happening in the Sahel is neither a simple armed rebellion, nor a religious war, nor a fatality arising from our own weaknesses. What some call “terrorism” in our region is a cynical engineering of recolonization, clothed in the rags of extremism, but whose real motivation lies elsewhere: in the coveting of our resources.
The uranium of the Niger, the gold of Mali and Burkina Faso, the lithium, gas, oil and so many other riches continue to make the former colonial powers salivate.
They want us to believe that we are incapable of governing ourselves, of producing, of thinking and of defending ourselves. They want to convince us that we have neither science, nor intelligence, nor sovereignty to build anything valuable by and for ourselves and that, consequently, we should accept the tutelage of Emmanuel Macron’s France and its allies; a France which very often acts through local proxies, networks and complicities.
For centuries, self-depreciation, fear and resignation have been instilled. They continue to seek to set in permanent conflict communities which, since time immemorial, have lived in harmony within the same space and which have created peaceful mechanisms for the settlement of disputes, in particular joking kinship.
This perfidious undertaking to destabilize the central Sahel, led by France with the active complicity of Ukraine, is now documented. This criminal undertaking has been exposed since the military and politico-media elites who justify it in the name of the interests of their own countries have, they- themselves, lifted the veil.
I say it solemnly from this rostrum: the Sahel sees. The Sahel hears. The Sahel remembers and the Sahel understands. Our Sahel is determined to defend its freedom, its resources and its dignity, whatever the cost.
A people that has decided to be free cannot be recolonized either by fear, by cunning, or even by savage violence.
The AES, the culmination of a long historic struggle by our peoples against colonization and neocolonialism, is henceforth an irreversible process towards the sovereignty of our countries.
We must be fully convinced of this: the century in which we live marks the end of the old hegemonies and the awakening of forces hitherto subjugated.
The AES is for Africa, its historic and contemporary diasporas, what light is to darkness.
For this human community present in the four corners of the world, it is a source of hope and dignity.
I say this before the world, so that the world may understand.
The AES is the result of a movement that comes from the depths of the ages; it is a profound, lasting, irrepressible and irreversible change which, blunting the sharp claws of imperialism, abolishing the slave trade and slavery, overthrowing colonialism and neocolonialism, is carrying the peoples of Africa towards independence, sovereignty and freedom.
I affirm that our Refoundation is directed against no one. It expresses our determination to rely on ourselves, to have full control over our resources, as well as responsibility for our choices and our alliances.
Our Organization must hear this truth: the sovereignty of our States is not negotiable. Our resources belong to our peoples. Our future will no longer be decided elsewhere.
Ladies and Gentlemen, This is the place to salute the courage of our defence and security forces and to pay tribute to all our civilian and military martyrs who lost their lives in the struggle for our full and complete freedom. I bow before their memory. May their souls rest in peace.
I would also like to salute the memory of the late General Sadio Camara, Minister of National Defence of Mali, whose sacrifice will forever remain associated with the history of the Confederation of Sahel States. May Allah grant him Paradise, Firdaws. Amen.
We remain open to any security cooperation that takes into account our strategic interests, reciprocal interest and respect for our sovereignty. With Burkina Faso and Mali, Niger is developing, within the Confederation of Sahel States, cooperation focused on defence and security, diplomacy and development, meeting a requirement for solidarity among peoples facing common challenges.
On 16 September 2023, in Bamako, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso signed the Liptako-Gourma Charter, giving birth to the Alliance of Sahel States.
On 6 July 2024, in Niamey, our three Heads of State, President Assimi Goïta of Mali, President Ibrahim Traoré of Burkina Faso and President Abdourahamane Tiani of Niger, took a historic step by creating the Confederation of Sahel States.
Two years later, the institutional structure of this Confederation is virtually complete: a unified force of five thousand men is conducting the coordinated fight against the mercenaries operating across our three territories; a Confederation Investment and Development Bank is financing our projects and programmes with our own means; a confederation biometric passport has been in circulation since 29 January 2026; a common television channel, a press agency and a radio station are carrying our voice.
More recently, from 26 to 29 August 2026, the first sessions of the Confederation Parliament were held in Niamey, thus completing our institutional architecture.
Niger is a peaceful country. It has never waged war and will not wage war against another country; but it is determined to defend itself and to control its natural resources.
We have chosen a transformation based on national responsibility, the enhancement of our resources, the strengthening of our institutions and the tangible improvement of the living conditions of our people.
Since 26 July 2023, Niger has been inexorably advancing towards the full recovery of its sovereignty, under the leadership of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP) and its President, His Excellency General of the Army Abdourahamane TIANI, President of the Republic, Head of State. This transformation breaks radically with policies imposed from outside and disconnected from the real needs of the population; it is rooted in the social values of the people of the Niger.
Aware of the challenges it faces, the Government has chosen to mobilize the resources necessary to finance agriculture and the basic social sectors through funds from the voluntary contributions of the women and men of the Niger, in addition to the revenue derived from the exploitation of our mining and petroleum resources, revenue that previously escaped the control of the State.
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen, A few days ago, on the night of 28 to 29 August 2026, after two previous unsuccessful attempts to attack Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey, a third attempt at destabilization, orchestrated by obscurantist and colonialist forces, targeted our institutions. Like the previous ones, it was failed, thanks to the loyalty of our Armed Forces. It failed thanks to the solidarity of our allies and to the categorical refusal of the Nigerien people to return to subjugation.
Niger has emerged from it united and determined.
The necessary investigations are under way in order to establish the circumstances, responsibilities and the internal and external support linked to this attempt. At the conclusion of this procedure, Niger reserves the right, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and international law, to have recourse to the competent mechanisms to defend its sovereignty.
In that regard, we ask that any concern of a Member State relating to its security be examined with diligence and impartiality, without differentiated treatment. The credibility of our Organization also depends on its ability to make the voices of all its Member States heard.
Niger seeks confrontation with no country. It extends its arms to all partners who wish to build a new relation, based on equality, reciprocity and mutual interest.
For more than half a century, Niger’s uranium lit the cities of Europe, while ours remained in darkness. That injustice has now come to an end. In June 2025, the State of Niger regained control of the Société des Mines de l’Aïr.
Our resources are now managed by us and for us, and Niger intends to market its uranium on the international market, in full transparency and in strict compliance with its obligations regarding the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.
In the same spirit, in 2024 our country became an exporter of crude oil thanks to the pipeline linking AGADEM to the Atlantic coast, the longest on the African continent, making Niger one of the fastest-growing economies on the continent in 2025. That revenue goes to the security, agriculture, electrification, water, education and health of our fellow citizens.
And the Solidarity Fund for the Safeguarding of the Homeland, fuelled by the voluntary contributions of millions of Nigeriens, says everything about a people that has understood that sovereignty has a price, and that it is ready to pay it.
After three years of breaking with the old order, the progress observed on the ground is remarkable. Our economy recorded growth of 7 per cent in 2025, driven above all by oil and agriculture. Inflation, which had reached 9.1 per cent in 2024, fell back to -4.7 per cent, thanks in particular to exceptional agricultural production and a targeted reduction in fuel tariffs and the price of cement.
The Major Irrigation Programme, initiated by the President of the Republic and allocated 526.7 billion CFA francs, aims to develop 21,200 hectares of new irrigated perimeters. The results recorded at this level are very satisfactory because, for the first time in decades, our country has not experienced a food shortage nor called on foreign aid. Through this programme, we intend to halve our cereal imports by the end of 2027, insha’Allah.
As regards health, we have reduced by 50 per cent the costs of services in public health facilities. Certain services are free of charge, in particular childbirth, care for children from 0 to 5 years old and dialysis. The rate of assisted childbirth rose from 36 per cent in 2022 to 42.5 per cent in 2025, and that of prenatal consultations from 32.7 per cent to 38.2 per cent.
Education is free and compulsory for all children in public schools. Moreover, a 20 per cent reduction in school fees in private institutions was decided in July 2025. Those orientations, contained in the Programme for the Refoundation of the Republic (PRR) 2025-2029, constitute the reference framework for all State interventions in favour of the structural transformation of our economy.
Those results are very encouraging, despite the scale of the challenges, because they are ours and have been obtained with our own means.
Three years ago, some predicted the collapse of Niger under the weight of sanctions and isolation. Today, Niger is standing. It is standing because its people refused to bow their heads. It is standing because it found, within the Confederation of Sahel States, a family in the full African meaning of the term. It is standing because the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, a brotherly and neighbouring country, chose to accompany it through a substantial investment in the exploitation of its natural resources and through constant support for its defence system. With Algeria, we also maintain dynamic cooperation in the fields of health, education, energy, water resources and agriculture. To that must be added major structuring projects such as the tripartite gas pipeline and the Trans-Saharan Highway. Above all, Niger is standing because it has regained possession of its soil, its subsoil and its voice.
Our country is also standing because it speaks within our common organization, the United Nations, which counts among its members countries with which we have fruitful cooperation based on mutual respect. Allow me to say that Togo, Türkiye, the Kingdom of Morocco, the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China are among our friends.
On behalf of the President of the Republic, I would like to express to them all our gratitude.
Mr. President, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Niger remains faithful to the values enshrined in its motto — “Fraternity, Work, Progress” — and to that of our Confederation — “One space, one people, one destiny”. The security, development and dignity of our peoples cannot be considered separately.
We believe in international relations based on cooperation, dignity, sovereignty and mutual respect. Our conviction is that no country, however powerful it may be, can arrogate to itself the title of policeman of the world.
In conclusion, Niger respects the choices of others and asks no one to share its own; it asks everyone to respect them. It intends to exercise fully its sovereignty over its natural resources, and will never again accept any restriction imposed from outside on its sovereign right to choose its partners freely.
That right is inalienable; it is not negotiable.
We proclaim that confidence will be reborn when each nation, large or small, is treated with the same consideration; when the right to sovereign equality, territorial integrity, the free choice of partnerships and non-interference is respected. It is on this condition that confidence will be restored, that transformation will be fair and that the United Nations will truly deliver results for all.
Long live international cooperation, Long live the Confederation of Sahel States, Long live the Republic of the Niger.
I thank you for your kind attention.
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