International donors' conference to open in Brussels as country emerges from two years of armed conflict in the north.
On the eve of a major international donors conference, the European Union has announced it is pledging $674.8mn over the next two years to help rebuild the west African country of Mali as a functioning state.
The announcement was made on Tuesday by Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, the EU's executive branch, who said the investment would benefit Europe as well as Africa.
Until a military intervention by France, followed by the engagement of other African countries, many international officials were concerned that Mali's vast, ungoverned north was a haven for armed groups that, unhindered by government control, could feel free to plot attacks anywhere in the world.
The donors' conference, to be held on Wednesday in Brussels, has been organised by French President Francois Hollande, along with Barroso and Dioncounda Traore, Mali's interim president.
International delegations from 103 countries are set to attend, including ten heads of state and government.
Officials in Mali have come up with a $5.58bn multifaceted plan for what EU officials are calling 'a total relaunch of the country'.
The plan includes rebuilding government institutions and the military, staging elections in July, holding dialogues with rebels in the north, rebuilding roads and schools, reviving the moribund economy so that people get paid for working, and more.
Mali wants to raise nearly half of the amount, $2.59bn from the international community.
A quarter of that has now been pledged by the EU.
Presidential vote
Traore, standing beside Barroso after their meeting, said the country's presidential vote would take place on July 28, after months of speculation about the date.
Traore also said that neither he nor any member of the transitional government would be a candidate for the presidency.
"I won't be a candidate in the presidential elections, the Prime Minister won't be candidate, the members of the government won't be candidates because our concern is that we cannot be both judges and the party," he said.
"And we want to give every opportunity to the people of Mali to have transparent open elections, honest, credible elections."
A field of about a dozen candidates is expected to take part in the election, which faces significant logistical and security challenges.
Some critics have questioned how the vote can go forward when hundreds of thousands of Malians remain displaced.
Doucoure Marietou Diaby, Associate Country Director for Oxfam, has warned that a focus on security issues at the expense of humanitarian aid will fail to resolve the country's issues.
"We believe that the security approach is not a panacea. We must support the country by providing immediate resources for a humanitarian response," she said.
"As you know, there are still areas in the country facing a food crisis since two years."
Armed groups have launched a series of suicide bombings across the north, raising fears for the safety of the vote, which will take place more than a year after a coup toppled the previous government.
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