Mali

Note: This column mainly includes countries along the Belt and Road and countries that have signed cooperation agreements with China on Belt and Road Initiative.

The traditional friendship and cooperation between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Mali maintained a sound momentum of growth in 2013.

The two countries had close political exchanges. In August, President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message to Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta on his election as Malian President. In September, Wang Zhengwei, Special Envoy of President Xi, CPPCC Vice Chairman and Director of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, attended the inauguration ceremony of President Keïta and met with him. After the new government of Mali was founded in September, Premier of the State Council Li Keqiang and Foreign Minister Wang Yi sent messages of congratulations respectively to the new Malian Prime Minister Oumar Tatam Ly and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Zahabi Ould Sidi Mohamed. In December, Foreign Minister Mohamed sent a letter of New Year's greetings to Foreign Minister Wang Yi. In November, former President of Malian transitional government Dioncounda Traoré came to China to attend the Fourth Round-Table Conference on China-Africa Cooperation and met with CPPCC Vice Chairman Wang Zhengwei. In March, President Traoré sent a congratulatory letter to Xi Jinping on his election as Chinese President. In April, President Traoré sent a message of sympathy to President Xi for the earthquake in Lushan, Sichuan Province. Prime Minister Diango Cissoko, Acting Speaker of the National Assembly Younoussi Touré and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Tièman Hubert Coulibaly of the Malian transitional government sent congratulatory letters respectively to Premier Li Keqiang, NPC Chairman Zhang Dejiang and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on their assumption of office.

Economic cooperation and trade between China and Mali made progress. As stability was gradually restored in Mali, China swiftly resumed the implementation of road and other business cooperation projects. In September, the two governments signed the Economic and Technological Cooperation Agreement Between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Mali.

Progress was also made in other fields of cooperation. In July, China sent the 23rd batch of medical personnel to Mali. At the request of the United Nations, China was actively engaged in the UN peacekeeping operation in Mali and decided to send engineering, medical, security teams and staff officers to the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali.