Egypt welcomes Mali peace accord

The Foreign Ministry welcomed the signature of a peace agreement between the Mali government and separatists, saying it marks the end of the civil war that erupted after the coup that toppled president Toumani Toure in March 2012.

In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said the signing ceremony was attended by Deputy Foreign Minister for African Affairs Hamdy Sanad Louza.

Relations between Egypt and Mali had seen a momentum in the past period, the ministry said, pointing to Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab's visit to the country in September 2013, when he was housing minister, to attend the inauguration of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta.

The Malian president, in turn, had attended the inauguration of Egypt's Abdel Fattah El Sisi in June 2014 and the Egypt Economic Development Conference held in March 2015 in Sharm El Sheikh, it said.

The ministry noted that the Malian prime minister had led a delegation on Cairo visit in August 2014, while the defense minister visited Cairo in February.

Egypt is participating in the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) with a military police unit and army and police observers, it said.

Egypt had provided humanitarian and development assistance to Mali, including granting it a neonatal intensive care unit and establishing an eye surgery unit at a Malian hospital, it added.