Brussels - European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso pledged 520 million euros in aid for Mali on Tuesday, on the eve of an international donor conference being hosted in Brussels.
The funding, promised for 2013-14, represents an initial step towards the 2 billion euros that Wednesday's donor conference aims to raise for Mali's recovery programme, with Bamako putting up an additional 2.3 billion euros.
"Tomorrow's conference, I am convinced, will send a very strong signal of the decisive engagement of the entire international community ... for the stability, the unity, the democracy and development of Mali," Barroso said.
He praised the country's "remarkable evolution" since the start of the year, when Islamist militants from the north had advanced on Bamako, prompting a French military intervention.
It was now crucial, he said, to advance politically with the reconciliation process and the democratic legitimization of the Malian authorities. He praised the country's political roadmap as well as its recovery programme, to be formally presented Wednesday.
Malian Interim President Dioncounda Traore said the country was going through "the worst crisis that Mali has known in its entire history."
He said the crisis had "several dimensions" - a security aspect that was being resolved, but also an institutional and a development aspect, and expressed his determination to hold presidential elections by the end of July.
"We are firmly resolved to make sure that the Malian transition will be as short as possible." Neither he, nor any member of his government, would stand in the elections, Traore said.
He thanked Barroso for the EU's aid pledge, which he called a "good start," adding that overall EU contributions would inevitably be much higher - citing for example the French military contributions.
"Announcing a figure here is not the most important thing. What is important is the willingness to support what is being done. That willingness cannot be measured," Traore said.
Meanwhile, EU Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva stressed that the basic needs of Malian people must also be met.
"Rebuilding Mali is a long road. The donor conference means just a first step, because, to return to a normal life, you need basic things: electricity, sanitation, water, schools and health care," Georgieva said.
"We also want to convey a message to those who run away from the country: we want you to feel that your country has a future, come back," she added in an interview with dpa Insight EU. - Sapa-dpa
IOLSA