China and Mali raise their level of strategic partnership during a meeting between their leaders

September 3 (EUROPA PRESS) –

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Malian junta leader Assimi Goita met in Beijing on Monday for the ninth meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, elevating their strategic partnership, positioning the Asian country as a key partner in the development of the African nation plagued by instability and terrorism.

Goita has highlighted shared values ​​and principles, especially “respect for national sovereignty” and “non-interference in internal affairs,” according to Malian news portal Maliactu.

The military leader also welcomed the new strategic partnership status as a turning point in cooperation between the two countries, which will allow China to advise Mali on poverty reduction.

Mali and the rest of the Sahel countries have experienced an upsurge in violence, both jihadist at the hands of branches of Al Qaeda and Islamic State, and inter-community, amid reports of abuses by the army and mercenaries deployed by the Wagner Group to support Bamako in dealing with insecurity.