Mali hails Algeria's key role in its stability

ALGIERS, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Malian Prime Minister, Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga, on Saturday said Algeria has always played a major role in stabilizing Mali.

"Algeria has always played a major role in Mali's stability and has intervened at least twice to help establishing inter-Malian peace talks, in 1992 and 2015," Maiga told reporters as he started a two day visit to the North African nation.

What constitutes today the "cornerstone of Mali's domestic and foreign policy is the peace and reconciliation agreement resulted in the peace process in which Algeria played a key role."

He added that the relations between Mali and Algeria are based on a common history, pointing out that his visit aims at boosting bilateral relations in all fields.

This is the first international trip of the Malian PM who was appointed to this position on Dec. 30, 2017.

The Peace and Reconciliation Agreement, signed in its first phase in May 2015 and its second phase in June 2015, put an end to hostilities between the government and separatist armed movements in northern Mali.

The agreement was reached by all Malian warrant parties in the capital Bamako after five rounds of UN-sponsored talks initiated in July 2014 with an international mediation led by Algeria.

Algeria and Mali are active members at the Sahel Regional Chief of Staff Committee, which also includes Mauritania and Niger.

The committee was established in the Algerian town of Tamanrasset on the border with Mali and Niger in 2009 in a bid to coordinate efforts and exchange information on combating terrorism, organized crime and trafficking. Enditem