the challenges facing landlocked developing countries: a case study ...

The effects of the surrounding instability are not always as direct. In the case of Togo, for
example, the broadly questioned results of the 1998 election provoked the EU, World Bank,
and IMF to suspend financial assistance thereby limiting investment in the transport sector.
The consequent deterioration of infrastructure has hurt Burkina Faso.
Burkina Faso’s position as a landlocked country is further weakened by poor relations with
its most important neighbor, Côte d’Ivoire. The Burkina Faso-Côte d’Ivoire relationship is
considered to have recently “hit rock bottom” (Vanguard 2003). Such escalated tensions have
largely been the result of Ivorian accusations that Burkina Faso instigated the recent rebel
war. Burkina Faso has now accused Côte d’Ivoire of persecuting and murdering Burkinabe
citizens living within its border.
Burkina Faso’s relations with its other neighbors have been mixed. In the mid 1990s Burkina
Faso supported Liberian President Charles Taylor and the rebels in Sierra Leone thus
isolating itself from the policies of some neighbors. Burkina Faso also engaged in a brief war
with Mali in 1985 over a disputed border. However, recent attempts have been made to better
integrate the area and bring about peace. Most notably, Burkina Faso has cooperated closely
with Ghana in making the Economic Community of Western African States functional. The
two countries agreed on bilateral relations recognizing the importance of the countries’
economic integration (News in Ghana 2002).
- 55 -