Morocco's first woman premier, Sahel juntas at the UN, Niger after Orano
Mohammed VI named Fatima-Ezzahra El Mansouri, mayor of Marrakech, as head of the Moroccan government, the first woman to hold the post, six days after the PAM won 97 seats in the legislative elections. The foreign ministers of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger met in New York on 21 September to harmonise their positions before the 81st UN General Assembly, and held a side event there on 25 September. Niger has relaunched uranium investment, with the Madaouela project reassigned to Australia's Atomic Eagle and the Dasa project backed by 414 million dollars in financing, while arbitration with the French company Orano over Imouraren and the nationalised Somaïr continues.
Why it matters: The uranium file shows how energy security and resource nationalism now structure Niger's dealings with foreign mining investors.