Robles claims from Bamako the importance of the UN and the EU maintaining their missions in Mali

MADRID, 3 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Defense Minister, Margarita Robles, concludes this Friday a two-day trip to Mali in which she has made an effort to defend the need for both the European Union and the United Nations to maintain their military missions in the country to combat the advance of terrorism and contain Russia's expansion in Africa.

This Thursday, Robles met with his Malian counterpart, Sadio Camara, and took the opportunity to insist on the importance of the European presence in the country, at a time of 'impass' for the EUTM Mali mission after France's decision to abandon the country, followed by other armies such as those of Germany or the Czech Republic.

Spain is currently in command of the mission with Brigadier General Santiago Fernández Ortiz-Repiso and contributes a contingent made up of 334 troops, 75 of the total number of personnel in the operation.

Despite the uncertainty about the continuity of the mission, with the training functions for the Malian army suspended for months, Robles insisted on the importance of cooperation between the EU and Africa. "Just as Russia is attacking Ukraine, logically it will spread to the countries of the Sahel, and that is why the EUTM Operation in Mali is so important for Spain," he explained.

The same message was transferred this Friday to the head of the United Nations mission in the country (MINUSMA) and special representative of the UN Secretary General for Mali, El Ghassim Wane.

"We are all concerned about peace in the world and I wanted to convey that although Spain is symbolically represented in MINUSMA, we understand that the work of the United Nations is essential", he explained after the meeting about an operation to which Spain contributes a representative at Headquarters on liaison missions and four police.

"I wanted to support the work carried out by the UN and at the same time explain Spain's position, which is not to forget the southern flank, because we understand that collaboration between Europe and Africa is essential," he insisted.

MINUSMA, which was established by the Security Council in 2013, aims to support the political process and help stabilize Mali. The Security Council decided in June 2022 to renew the mission's mandate until June 30, 2023 and its future is uncertain thereafter.

It is currently made up of more than 11,700 military personnel and 1,744 police personnel, belonging above all to Chad, Bangladesh, Egypt, with more than a thousand troops, and followed by Senegal, the Ivory Coast, Togo, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Germany.