German minister wants to continue Mali aid after Bundeswehr withdraws

As Germany prepares to withdraw the Bundeswehr from Mali by next year, Development Minister Svenja Schulze underlined the importance of ongoing development aid, reported dpa.

"It makes sense to continue to be on the ground," 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."

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

To this end, the German government will continue to work together with local leaders and non-governmental organizations, Schulze said."We are working very closely with the local population."

She said Germany has a responsibility to continue its development projects in the Sahel region.

Schulze is accompanying 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 maintains a central field camp as part of the UN's MINUSMA mission.

Germany is to end its participation in the mission by May of next year, following repeated clashes with Mali's ruling military leaders, who are seen to be close to Russia.

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

The German withdrawal comes after repeated clashes with Mali's military leaders who are seen to be close to Russia. The African country's leadership had repeatedly refused to grant Berlin certain rights to enable it carry out parts of the mission.