German development minister Svenja Schulze has underlined the importance of the ongoing development aid to Mali as the country prepares to withdraw the Bundeswehr from Mali by 2024.

“It makes sense to continue to be on the ground,” Ms Schulze told broadcaster Deutschlandfunk on Friday during a joint visit to Mali with defence minister Boris Pistorius. “It is true that terrorism is becoming more and more rampant here. And that is why we must help to remove the breeding ground for this terrorism.”

She said the education of young people must be promoted and job prospects created, for example in agriculture.

To this end, Germany would continue to work together with local leaders and non-governmental organisations, Ms Schulze said, revealing that “we are working very closely with the local population.”

According to her, Germany has a responsibility to continue its development projects in the Sahel region.

Ms Schulze is accompanying Mr Pistorius on a trip to Mali where he is visiting the 1,100 German members stationed as part of the UN’s peacekeeping mission.

The two ministers landed in Gao, where the Bundeswehr maintained a central field camp as part of the UN’s MINUSMA mission.

Germany is to end its participation in the mission by May 2024, following repeated clashes with Mali’s ruling military leaders, who were seen to be close to Russia.

However, Germany wanted to continue to assist Mali while its stability is threatened by Islamists since the German government had its own interest in stability in the Sahel region with regard to migration and extremism, Mr Pistorius said on Thursday.

The German withdrawal came after repeated clashes with Mali’s military leaders who were seen to be close to Russia.

The African country’s leadership had repeatedly refused to grant Germany certain rights to enable it to carry out parts of the mission. 

(dpa/NAN)