Mali’s Minister of Defence and
Veterans Affairs, Mr. Soumeylou Boubèye-Maiga, said all is set for Mali
to sign series of agreements with a number of countries, including
France, Chad, Niger, Algeria and Mauritania.
He said in Bamako on Tuesday that the agreement with France would be
on defence while the one with Chad, Niger, Algeria and Mauritania would
be on security cooperation.
Boubèye-Maiga said this had become imperative because northern Mali
had been at the heart of recurrent instability due to trafficking in all
kinds of vices and its geographical location.
He, however, welcomed the improvement in the security situation since
the intervention of French army and African forces, alongside the
Malian army.
Boubèye-Maiga added that even after being defeated, armed groups succeeded in forging strong links.
On the the defence agreement with France, he said Mali would renew the agreement it signed with the Western country in 1985.
Boubèye-Maiga said the agreement would enable Mali to provide a legal
framework for the French-Malian military cooperation in terms of
providing military training and equipping the
Malian army.
The minister stressed that Mali was facing several military and
political challenges because the theatre of operations was very large.
“In some northern communities, we often play the role of the administration.
“The biggest challenge for us, politically speaking, remains the
reconstruction of the citizenship in these regions so that we have a
common destiny,” he said.
Boubèye-Maiga said that Algeria’s role was important in the
resolution of the crisis, given its geographical position with the city
of Kidal, the stronghold of all rebel groups in northern Mali.
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