Australia to provide assistance to Mali

CANBERRA - Australia would provide 10 million Australian dollars ($10.4 million) in assistance to Mali to support peace, security and humanitarian needs, Foreign Minister Bob Carr and Defense Minister Stephen Smith announced in a joint statement on Wednesday.

According to the statement, Australia will provide a financial contribution of 5 million Australian dollars to the UN Trust Fund to support the African-led International Support Mission in Mali (AFISMA).

This support will help fund AFISMA's operational costs such as military staffing, logistics requirements, and acquisition of equipment to support the AFISMA mission.

As part of the package Australia will also provide a further 5 million Australian dollars in assistance to help meet Mali's growing humanitarian needs.

The insurgency, which has led to the intervention of French troops to help protect the government, remains focused in the north of Mali, while 95 percent of the economy, heavily dependent on cotton farming and mining, is in the stable south.