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India Loans $100 Million to Mali for Power Project

  • India has extended a $100-million loan to Mali for a power project, while Bamako promised to support the Asian giant's bid for a permanent UN Security Council seat, a statement said. The joint statement, received by AFP Friday, was issued after a visit to India by Malian President Amadou Toumani Toure on January 11-12. The Indian government $100-million (77.8-million euro) credit line is meant to finance a power transmission project connecting the Malian capital Bamako to the southern city of Sikasso.

  • "The Indian side thanked Mali for its support to India's candidature for permanent membership in an expanded United Nations Security Council," the statement said. India is on a charm offensive to build good ties with the resource-rich African continent, where its Chinese rival is already heavily involved. Experts say much of India's strategy in Africa -- made up of 55 countries -- is to muster support for its bid to be granted a permanent seat at the UN Security Council. The Security Council's five permanent members -- the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China -- have been the same since 1946. India, which became independent in 1947 and is now the world's largest democracy with a population of 1.2 billion, is currently a non-permanent member.

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