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<p>UK officials are in close and regular contact with their French counterparts on
Mali, both bilaterally and in multilateral fora such as the UN and the EU. The UK
Special Representative for the Sahel has recently visited Mali and will be meeting
a number of EU colleagues in the coming days. We remain committed to working with
our partners, including France, to bear down on terrorism and organised crime in Mali
and the Sahel. Ultimately, stability in Mali will only be possible if there is a political
agreement between the Malian government and the various communities in the country.
That is why we support the negotiations taking place in Algiers. <br><br>In the meantime
we will work to strengthen the capacity of the UN Mission (MINUSMA) to carry out its
important tasks in Mali. We will continue our participation in the EU Training Mission
in Mali, and in the new civilian EU Mission whose objective is to strengthen the civilian
security forces’ ability to tackle organised crime, including drug and people trafficking.
We will also continue to lead the international effort to eradicate the payment of
ransoms to kidnappers, which is an important source of funding for terrorist groups.</p>
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