Canada remains committed to the development of Mali

BRUSSELS, Kingdom of Belgium, May 15, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- As a leading donor, Canada will continue to provide food and basic health services to the people of Mali. Today, Lois Brown, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Cooperation, on behalf of the Honourable Julian Fantino, Minister of International Cooperation, reaffirmed Canada's support for the people of Mali at an international donors' conference in Brussels, Belgium.

As a leading donor, Canada is working to ensure that basic needs of the people of Mali are addressed, said PS Brown. "Once again, Canada has demonstrated during this conference that we remain focused on helping Malians build upon stronger ground."

Canada took part in this important conference to help mobilize the support necessary to address Mali's substantial development challenges. PS Brown announced new investments with a focus on mitigating the risk of social unrest and continuing to provide basic services in health, food security, nutrition and education. These new investments support Mali's Sustainable Recovery Plan for 2013-2014.

Canada is a compassionate neighbour, said Minister Fantino. "Canada will continue to work with other donors, Canadian non-governmental organizations and multilateral organizations, such as the World Food Programme, to provide stability to the people of Mali."

Today's pledge builds on Canada's announcement earlier this week of $10 million to:

support the African-led International Support Mission until a new United Nations mission can be set up;

help restore democratic institutions in advance of planned elections in July and preserve Mali's territorial integrity; and

help the European Union-led training to help the Malian armed forces protect the basic rights of Malian civilians.

Canada is committed to helping countries like Mali. Economic Action Plan 2013 reaffirms Canada's commitment to international development and humanitarian assistance. The new Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development will help achieve greater efficiency, accountability and focus to continue to improve the lives of people in need around the world.