Baird Hosts Discussion on Mali

OTTAWA, Canada, January 17, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird meets with Traoré Ami Diallo, Mali's Ambassador to Canada, Philippe Zeller, France's Ambassador to Canada, and N'Goran Kouamé, Côte d'Ivoire's Ambassador to Canada, to discuss the situation in Mali. Côte d'Ivoire currently chairs the Economic Community of West African States.

This meeting follows a discussion Minister Baird had with his French counterpart, Minister Laurent Fabius.

Canada is deeply concerned by recent events in northern Mali. The establishment of a safe haven for terrorist groups in northern Mali is of grave concern to the broader international community. While Canada is not considering a direct military mission to Mali, it is providing limited and clearly defined logistical support to assist the forces that are intervening in Mali, consistent with UN Security Council Resolution 2085.

Canada will remain diplomatically engaged, as it has since the coup of March 2012, while closely monitoring the situation on the ground to determine humanitarian needs.