UN Mission in Mali: Armed Forces Deployment

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 2:16 pm on 9 December 2020.

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Photo of James Heappey James Heappey The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence 2:16, 9 December 2020

My hon. Friend’s last point may require a statement entirely in its own right. France is clearly an important partner in the international activity in the Sahel. It is really important, however, to note that the French-led Barkhane mission is entirely separate from MINUSMA. The Secretary of State and I both participate in conferences with other NATO Defence Ministers and Defence Ministers from across the Sahel, so we are aware of and support what France is doing to generate more mass to its Barkhane mission, but it is really important to note that that is separate from what we are doing with MINUSMA.