Germany–Mali relations gained depth and intensity in the 2010s as the German government stepped up its efforts to stabilize the Sahel region, and there were an increasing number of bilateral state visits.

[1] In the 19th century, German-speaking explorers such as Heinrich Barth and Oskar Lenz travelled to the legendary city of Timbuktu.

In 1944, Malian anti-colonial activist Tiemoko Garan Kouyaté was murdered by the Nazis in the Mauthausen concentration camp after refusing to collaborate with them.

After the end of the Hallstein Doctrine, Mali also established diplomatic relations with the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in 1977.

Germany increased its participation in the successor United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali to up to 650 German soldiers in 2016.

[7] In 2006, the Malian duo Amadou & Mariam recorded Zeit, dass sich was dreht (Celebrate the Day), the official song for the 2006 World Cup, together with Herbert Grönemeyer.