The Mali Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed USAID funding was used for terrorism activities.
This was made known in a post and press statement shared on the X handle of Libs of TikTok.
The press release, reads thus,”Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Republic of Mali, One People – One Goal – One Faith **PRESS RELEASE**
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has followed with surprise the publication by the U.S. Department of State Efficiency of a report alleging that Mali, among other countries, has received a supposed grant of 14 million U.S. dollars, equivalent to approximately 8.8 billion CFA francs, in support of social cohesion.
The Ministry hereby informs public opinion that it has officially requested clarifications from the American authorities on these alleged facts. It recalls that Mali, in its quest for sovereignty, has consistently denounced, well before the recent administrative changes in the United States, the danger of the misuse of so-called “public development aid” as an instrument of destabilization and of funding terrorist networks and, more broadly, as a means of undermining the sovereignty of our States.
“In this regard, and in line with the vision of the President of the Transition, Head of State, as expressed in the constitutional principles of governance of public action, Mali is firmly committed to conducting all its cooperation relations within the framework of respect for the sovereignty of the State, the sovereign choices of the Malian people, and the defense of its interests.
“Consequently, the Government of Mali has, for some time now, reserved the right to sign the Agreement on the Subvention of the Office of Development with the U.S. States, concerning the financing of projects by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), while ensuring that certain activities, including those related to social cohesion, are carried out in full respect of Mali’s sovereignty, priorities, and established national procedures on the matter.
In the same dynamic, Mali welcomes the new direction taken by the American authorities to streamline and humanize their grants, and seizes this opportunity, on the same occasion, to reiterate its awareness of the reality of so-called “public aid” and its actions by certain enterprises against the use, or even the misappropriation, of these supposedly beneficial funds.
“Furthermore, the Ministry invites the American authorities to engage in legal proceedings against the individuals who have diverted these funds to finance terrorist activities, of which Mali and other States of the AES Confederation are victims.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation reaffirms that the authorities of the Transition of Mali, faithful to the principles that guide them, will continue their efforts to ensure security, reestablish peace, promote social cohesion, and achieve sustainable development, within a dynamic of national appropriation, partnership, and mutual respect, in the framework of the Confederation of Sahel States. Koulouba, February 24, 2025.”
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