ECOWAS mediator on Malian crisis, Goodluck Jonathan, arrives in Bamako
Bamako, Mali (PANA) - Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, mediator of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on the Malian crisis, arrived here Wednesday witness the inauguration ceremony of the transitional president to be held Friday at the international conference center of Bamako (CICB), official sources told PANA.
Jonathan, who will be in Mali until Friday, 25 September, 2020, will monitor the decisions taken at the ECOWAS mini-summit of Accra on 15 September regarding the appointment of a civilian president and prime minister before Tuesday 22 September.
On Wednesday afternoon, the delegation of the mediator took part in a meeting of the monitoring committee with the chairman of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers, the Commission’s chairman, representatives of the UN multidimensional integrated mission for Mali stabilization (MINUSMA) and the African Union (AU), the same sources said.
Late Wednesday, a meeting was scheduled with the ambassadors of the Permanent members of the Security Council and the European Union (EU).
The mission will also meet late in the evening with the ambassadors of ECOWAS member-countries in Mali.
According to the programme, the mission of the sub-regional organisation is due on Thursday to meet the National Committee for the People’s Salvation (CNSP), the junta that seized power on 18 August.
It will also pay a courtesy call on the leader of the transition, retired Colonel Bah N'Daw, appointed Monday by a group established by the junta.
In a short declaration on his arrival in the Malian capital, President Jonathan expressed his pleasure with the progress made in the establishment of the civilian transition, and gave the assurance that ECOWAS could soon lift the sanctions against the country.
A purely civilian prime minister will be appointed Friday, after the swearing-in of the new Malian leader, according to reliable sources.
-0- PANA GT/IS/MSA/RA 23 September 2020
