UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 27 (UPI) -- The Malian president said Friday before members of the U.N. General Assembly he was moving his country forward on a path toward reconciliation.
The British Ministry of Defense said last week it was deploying military trainers to Mali to help train national forces on counter-terrorism tactics.
Al-Qaida and foreign fighters seized control over northern Mali following a coup in 2012. The interim government in January called for support from former colonial power France to help regain control over the country.
British Foreign Office Minister for Africa Mark Simmonds took part in a conference on Mali at the United Nations.
"We need to act together to fight terrorism and crime and we need to address the deep-seated drivers of instability -- poverty, inequality, inadequate institutions, and criminality," he said in a statement Thursday.
The Malian conflict was exacerbated by instability in neighboring Algeria and nearby Libya. Some of the militants fighting in Mali were from al-Qaida organizations fighting in the region.
Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, elected in August, said Friday at the United Nations he was reaching out to northern communities to invite them to an "inclusive dialogue" on reconciliation.
"We will commit ourselves in the very near future to a dialogue to find a lasting solution to the crisis in the north of my country," he said.
