Bakary Sawadogo, Burkina Faso’s ambassador to Riyadh, said that he had received a formal request from Saudi Arabia to invest in gold mines in his country.

Sawadogo made the statement days after meeting with a Saudi delegation that was proposing investment in minerals.

The Burkina Faso ambassador’s announcement was viewed by experts as a Saudi escalation in the conflict with the UAE over Africa’s gold.

Reports from various international organisations, as well as research and study centres, have previously spoken of a rapidly intensifying Saudi-Emirati rivalry over Africa’s minerals.