MALI ON AFRICOM: PUT THE HEADQUARTERS HERE

UNCLAS BAMAKO 000166 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV EFIN ECON ML SUBJECT: MALI ON AFRICOM: PUT THE HEADQUARTERS HERE REF: STATE 14457 ¶1. (SBU) We delivered reftel demarche on the establishment of AFRICOM to the Chief of the Americas Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mamadou Diarra, on February 12. Diarra welcomed the move; when told no decision had been made on the location of the headquarters, his immediate response was to suggest Mali. Prefacing his comments with a disclaimer that he was, at this point, speaking for himself as a Malian rather than as an official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Diarra highlighted the advantages of locating the headquarters in Bamako by noting Mali's stable political system, central location, and strong bilateral relationship with the United States. Diarra said he would raise this issue with his MFA superiors. McCulley