Minister for Foreign and European Affairs Evarist Bartolo participated in a ministerial video-conference meeting of the Coalition of the Sahel that was held on 12 June 2020, which served to set up a Partnership for Security and Stability in the Sahel.

Welcoming the convening of the Ministerial Meeting, Minister Bartolo noted that the Sahel Coalition would provide greater visibility and effectiveness to assistance intended for the security and stability of the Sahel region.

“The instability in Libya and the Sahel region has an adverse impact on the Mediterranean and Europe. It is therefore in our collective interest to keep the Mali Peace Process, together with regionalism and migration, as one of the main priorities in the Sahel,” stated Minister Bartolo.

In his intervention, the minister also underlined that financing of terrorists through smuggling, trafficking and other criminal activities undermined the ongoing social and developmental efforts by the international community to ensure security and stability in the Sahel region. The most effective way to counter terrorism is by empowering the rule of law and strengthening the judiciary. This is a task which Malta addresses through the International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law (IIJ), which it hosts.

Minister Bartolo added that the Sahel plays an important role in the security of Libya and vice-versa. The instability in these regions has an adverse effect on the Mediterranean and Europe. In this context, it is our collective interest to keep the Mali Peace Process, together with regionalism and migration, as one of the main priorities in the Sahel.