By Handan Kazanci
ISTANBUL (AA) – Turkey welcomed the establishment of a transitional government in Mali, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.
“Turkey is closely following the developments in friendly and brotherly Mali,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu confirmed this with his visit to the country in September.
“The transitional government has been established with a decree signed on Oct. 5 by the President of Mali’s transition period, Bah N'Daw,” the statement read.
“We hope that with the establishment of the government after the appointment of a civilian Head of State and Prime Minister to manage the transition process, necessary steps will be taken quickly to restore the constitutional order and overcome the extremely difficult challenges facing the country,” the statement added.
The ministry also welcomed the efforts of the UN, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union to move the process in Mali in a positive way.
Turkey will continue to stand by the friendly and brotherly Mali, the statement added.
Late on Monday, Malian Prime Minister Moctar Ouane announced a 25-member cabinet as promised after his nomination last month, according to Office of Radio and Television of Mali (ORTM).
In September, Mali's military junta had announced that former Colonel-Major Bah N'Daw was appointed to lead the West African country.
The appointment came six days after other West African nations issued a one-week ultimatum for civilian governance to the National Council for People's Salvation (CNSP), a political-military group under the military junta currently at the country's helm.