RIYADH, 17 March 2004 — Security cooperation and Saudi aid for Mali topped the agenda during talks between the president of Mali’s National Assembly Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, and Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation.
The Malian speaker and his delegation arrived here at the invitation of Sheikh Saleh Bin-Humaid, chairman of the Shoura Council, who was in the Malian capital Bamako last week at the head of a Shoura delegation.
Both sides agreed there should be greater cooperation in the exchange of information about terrorist organizations.
Keita said the Kingdom has agreed to attend a round table conference to raise funds for a bridge project in the impoverished African country.
Keita, who is the president of the African Parliamentary Union, told Arab News strengthening inter-OIC cooperation in combating terrorism also figured prominently during his talks. He said there was a communication gap between the member countries of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and the West in security terms. “Unless there is interaction among us, misconceptions about the region will always exist,” he added.
In his talks with Prince Abdullah and Prince Sultan, he said, both sides underscored the need to preserve Islamic values.
