Brussels, 04/02/2013 (Agence Europe) - Ensuring security in the north of Mali and the urgent relaunch of the intra-Malian political process will be the focus of the international ministerial meeting of the support and follow up group on the situation in Mali (see EUROPE 10776). This will be the third meeting of its kind - and it will take place in Brussels on Tuesday 5 February. High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton will host this international meeting for assessing and coordinating international aid - a meeting that will be jointly chaired by the African Union, United Nations and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The day after the lightning visit of French President François Hollande to Mali on Saturday, where he was given a hero's welcome in Timbuktu and Bamoko, 11 international organisations and 35 countries - including Algeria, 9 EU member states (France, represented by Pascal Canfin, the minister delegate to the ministry of foreign affairs, in charge of development, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain and the United Kingdom), the United States and China - will focus on the work that remains to be done to help the Malian government permanently ensure the recapture of North Mali and restore state authority on the ground. The political process and the preparatory work for the elections planned by the roadmap which has just been adopted, as well as the humanitarian aid and stabilisation needs will be discussed. The participants will also try to coordinate their endeavours to help the Sahel region meet the challenges confronting it on the level of security, the economy and the environment.
On Monday, senior EU officials said that stabilising Mali is a task that remains political. They said that years will be needed to have an environment of stability, but just a few months will be needed to obtain the stability that will enable the political process to begin. This stability will then have to be maintained, the senior officials continued. Those taking part in the ministerial meeting will assess what international aid will have to do to contribute to the continued tracking down of the rebels and to the protection of the population - tasks which could be assured by the Malian army, by the international support mission to Mali (AFISMA), by the French forces already on the ground, which - if they do not have authority to stay, have a responsibility and will stay “as long as is necessary”, assured Hollande (our translation) - and by the United Nations peacekeepers. The senior EU officials confirmed that the decision to launch the EUTM Mali will be adopted on 12 February, and said that the relevance of the EUTM Mali is recognised by all. They added that it is necessary to prepare the stabilisation with the government and the necessary structures - including the army - to bring security and stability to the people. The Malian army must be built, they said. (AN/transl.fl)