Joint Technical Commission meeting on Mali-Côte d'Ivoire border demarcation opens
Bamako, Mali (PANA) - A three-day meeting of the Joint Technical Commission on the demarcation of the Mali-Côte d'Ivoire border opened on Tuesday in Bamako.
Participants are expected to establish a timetable for border delimitation/demarcation activities and validate the draft framework agreement on cross-border cooperation as well as the identified areas of cross-border cooperation.
The meeting is part of the implementation of support to the African Union Border Programme (AUBP) funded by the German Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
This initiative, which is implemented by the GIZ, the German development agency, aims to help AU member states in their efforts to transform African borders from potentially conflictual areas into bridges between neighbouring countries and promote peace, security and development of cross-border areas.
In his speech, the GIZ representative, Mamadou Tapily, congratulated the Ivorian and Malian authorities for their commitment to the concerted management of border issues between them.
He said before the official establishment of the Technical Commission, joint actions to manage the border were carried out.
These include several meetings of the border administrative authorities of Kolondiéba (Mali)-Tengréla (Côte d'Ivoire) and Kadiolo (Mali)-Kaniasso (Côte d'Ivoire) areas and the validation at the national level of each country of a preliminary draft framework agreement on cross-border cooperation.
Abdallah Faskoye, the representative of the Malian Minister of Territorial Administration, said the common land border between the two countries, which is about 532 km long, is one of the most peaceful borders known to Mali.
However, he drew attention to the vulnerable situation of this area, characterised by cross-border crime and the abusive exploitation of natural resources, saying that it is necessary to intervene to reverse the trend and transform the border area into a space of peace, security and development.
-0- PANA GT/JSG/BBA/MA 25Aug2021
