Paris – (AFP)
France announced on Tuesday that it “deplores” the Malian authorities’ decision to ban the activities of Paris-funded non-governmental organizations, believing it to be a decision that unfortunately harms the Malian population.
“We acknowledge and regret the decision of the financial transition authorities,” the French foreign ministry said in a statement.
And the ministry continued: “France welcomes the essential work carried out by French, financial and international non-governmental organizations in Mali in recent years. We ask French non-governmental organizations to comply with the unfortunate decision of the transitional authorities in Mali.”
On Monday evening, Mali’s Military Council announced a ban on the activities of all non-governmental organizations financed or supported by France, including those operating in the humanitarian field.
In a statement posted on social media, transitional prime minister Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga attributed this decision to Paris’s recent announcement to suspend its official development aid to Mali.
Many NGOs in Mali work in the health, food or education sectors.
And the French Foreign Ministry added: “As a reminder, Mali and its population have benefited each year since 2013 from more than 100 million euros in the form of general development aid and French humanitarian aid, which have notably helped to provide health services, drinking water, electricity and education to the Malian population”.