Mrs Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Foreign Minister
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, has commended efforts by the leadership of the Malian Transition Government for putting together a well-crafted roadmap for the transition arrangements.
She noted that priority areas identified by the roadmap are security, promotion of good governance, adoption of a social stability pact, education reforms, political and institutional reforms as well as the organisation of general elections.
In addition, she observed that the Malian people are at the forefront of the transition process and are availing themselves to international help, with the view to ensuring that the transition is successful.
“We recognise the hard work and commitment the Malian people are deploying to return their country to constitutional rule and assure them of our continuous solidarity and support,” Ms Botchwey said.
“We further remain confident that with consensus-building, open and inclusive dialogue at the heart of the transition process, Mali will once again emerge as a stable and prosperous nation in the ECOWAS region and be able to take its rightful place in the comity of nations,” she added.
The Foreign Minister said this at the second meeting of the Support Group to the transition in Mali by ECOWAS Council of Ministers in Lome, Togo, on Monday.
Monitoring Committee
Ms Botchwey, who is the Chair of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers, recalled the inaugural meeting of the Support Group held in Bamako, Mali, on November 30, 2020, where Council Members resolved to, among other things, provide steadfast support for the activities of the Monitoring Committee set up by the Authority of ECOWAS to follow-up, at the local level, the successful and effective management of the transition as well as to strengthen their support for the transition process and to place their actions within the framework of the priorities defined by the transition.
She said pursuant to the aforementioned resolutions, the Monitoring Committee has reported that the transition government has taken significant steps to fully comply with the terms of the Transition Charter including implementing the recommendations and decisions of ECOWAS.
“The Transition government is operationalising the National Transition Council (CNT), which has since adopted its internal rules of procedure, elected its bureau and set up its working committees and has dissolved the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP) by a decree issued by the President of the Transition in accordance with the provisions of the Transition Charter and the resolutions of the Authority of ECOWAS,” she said.
Call for support
Ms Botchwey called on international partners and friends of Mali to mobilise and coordinate support for the success of the transition process in Mali.
“In this regard, I wish to reiterate ECOWAS’ continued commitment to Mali and its preparedness to collaborate with other partners to ensure that the transition process proceeds smoothly,” she said.
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