The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Yván Gilsaid Monday an encounter with his Mali counterpart, Abdoulaye Diop, for the strengthening of bilateral cooperation with the signing of a memorandum of understanding within the framework of the second meeting of the political consultation mechanism.
During statements to the press from the yellow house Antonio José de Sucre in Caracas, Gil said that “we are two nations that we have a lot in common, that we fight for a common cause that is the independence of our peoples, the sovereignty of our nations, the freedom we have to administer our resources, fight against imperialism, against neo -colonialism and in that struggle we have met in the international stage.”
The Foreign Minister stressed that, following the instructions of the President of the Republic, Nicolás Maduro, an “intense relationship process, coordination on concrete, practical, commercial, financial, economic, cooperation, cooperation in the area of education, health, energy, agricultural, with each and every one of the countries of Mother Africa.”
He recalled the cooperation that exists between both countries in education, and announced that it is advancing in the granting of 30 new scholarships for students from that African nation to train in Venezuela.
“We have reaffirmed the commitment of Mali and Venezuela to travel together in a series of aspects of the geopolitical world (…) the condemnation of unilateral coercive measures, both Mali and Venezuela have been victims of the illegal and illegitimate application of unilateral coercive measures that we are facing together, together we condemn them and we have demanded their immediate uprising,” he said.
The condemnation of aggressions against the Palestinian people was also reaffirmed, demanding the freedom they have to be constituted as a sovereign state.
Gil said that this visit from Mali’s chancellor marks a turning point in bilateral relations, because it will allow to design all concrete cooperation mechanisms in the commercial, industrial, agricultural, financial, among others.
In addition, he urged to continue advancing in the Constitution of the Alliance between Mali and Venezuela, which this year will be 49 years of diplomatic relations, and announced that for next year they will celebrate “in style” the 50th anniversary with the realization of the Mixed Work Commission and that the exchanges of delegations will intensify.
Solidarity Mali with Venezuela
For his part, Mali’s minister said that both nations face similar challenges, have excellent relationships for cooperation, solidarity and fraternity.
He confirmed that Mali is supportive with the country and with all the challenges he is facing, being a source of inspiration and admiration the Venezuelan people for their combativeness, resilience and determination, which fights every day to guarantee its independence and sovereignty.
He also commented that together with Gil they decided that it is important to “work to identify the points to boost our relationships and our cooperation. We will also be able to make exchanges on bilateral and international matters ».
Diop reaffirmed that Mali and Venezuela are struggling to guarantee their sovereignty, and thanked Caracas for having his country his country in various areas. “We want to continue working to consolidate this cooperation base between our two countries,” he emphasized.
He reiterated the rejection of the unilateral coercive measures imposed against Venezuela, and assured that both countries will continue working for the respect of the United Nations Charter in different international instances to move towards a multipolar world and fight against the injustice that Palestine lives.
He also said that next year in Mali they will make the mixed commission between the two nations, being an important stage for the approach.
The Mali delegation made a visit to the National Pantheon and the Mausoleo del Libertador in Caracas, where it took a floral offering paying honors, along with the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs for Africa, Yuri Pimentel.
Diop arrived in the country on an official visit last Saturday, along with his delegation, being received at the Simón Bolívar International Airport by Deputy Minister Pimentel. It is expected that during this week the Malian minister will hold more meetings with other authorities of the country.
