Editing Modibo Keïta (section)

==As a Pan-Africanist==

[[File:Keita and Nasser, 1966.jpg|thumb|right|Keita and Egyptian President [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]] (right) in [[Addis Ababa]] for the [[Organisation of African Unity]] conference, November 1966]]

Modibo Keïta devoted his entire life to African unity. He first played a part in the creation of the [[Federation of Mali]] with [[Léopold Sédar Senghor]]. After its collapse, he moved away from Léopold Sédar Senghor, but with [[Sékou Touré]], the president of Guinea, and [[Kwame Nkrumah]], the President of Ghana, he formed the [[Union of African States|Union of the States of Western Africa]]. In 1963, he played an important role in drafting the charter of the [[Organization of African Unity]] (OAU).

In 1963, he invited the king of Morocco and the president of Algeria to Bamako, in the hope of ending the [[Sand War]], a frontier conflict between the two nations.  Along with [[Emperor Haile Selassie]] of Ethiopia, Keïta was successful in negotiating the [[Bamako Accords]], which brought an end to the conflict.  As a result, he won the [[Lenin Peace Prize]] that year.

From 1963 to 1966, he normalized relations with the countries of Senegal, Upper Volta and Côte d'Ivoire. An advocate of the [[Non-Aligned Movement]], Modibo defended the nationalist movements like the Algerian [[National Liberation Front (Algeria)|National Liberation Front]] (FLN).